Illinois is my home. This is where I’ve raised my family, where I started businesses and where I’ve created programs to improve the lives of people across the state.
What’s happening now in Springfield is offensive to our values and who we are as a state. Bruce Rauner’s failure as Governor isn’t just about numbers, it’s creating real damage every day to people across Illinois.
Now, let me address a question I imagine may be on your mind:
With Bruce Rauner as Governor and Donald Trump as President, why do we need another rich guy running for office?
My answer is that it’s a matter of values, and that Trump and Rauner are trying to destroy many of the things I’ve spent my life fighting for.
About a century ago, my great-grandfather Nicholas arrived in Chicago penniless. He worked hard — but he had help. A social service agency helped him find a place to live. A good public school helped him learn English. A state university allowed him to get a higher education degree.
You can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you don’t have any, and this state gave my great grandfather his bootstraps.
It’s what everyone in Illinois deserves, it’s what I’ve been fighting for my whole life, and it’s what I’ll be fighting for every day as your next governor.
Pretty sure that argument alone is not gonna do the trick. Your own thoughts about what he should say?
* This from a state Republican Party whose governor says he would be fine with a 4.99 percent income tax rate and a new tax on services…
Before even announcing his campaign for governor, J.B. Pritzker followed Mike Madigan’s lead and proposed raising the income tax to over 5 percent without any reforms to fix Illinois.
At the City Club in 2015, Mike Madigan said that raising the income tax back to 5 percent with no reforms was “a good place to begin.”
Now, as J.B. Pritzker prepares to plunge into the Democratic primary, he’s made clear he supports Madigan’s tax hike plan.
Behind closed doors, Pritzker told Chicago machine insiders that he supports raising the income tax to over 5 percent.
At a meeting with Democratic activists just three weeks ago, Pritzker told party insiders the following:
“Let’s remind everybody, the tax used to be 5 percent, and he let it lapse down to three and three quarters percent. And that’s what started a lot of the problems that we’ve got in the state. So, if you just put it back that’s $5 billion dollars. That doesn’t get you everything you need, but it’s a good way toward, you know, toward getting real revenue in the state.”
“Like a true machine politician, J.B. Pritzker mirrored the Madigan tax hike plan behind closed doors, before even announcing his campaign. It’s clear that Pritzker’s loyalty belongs to Mike Madigan and his plan for Illinois is higher taxes with no real reform.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
Also, the doors weren’t closed. The media was inside the event.
But, hey. Politics!
…Adding… I thought they were referring to the Democratic committeeman’s event, but Yaffe says the recording was made during “a meet and greet put on by a state legislator from Chicago.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** The ILGOP has a new press release and a digital ad…
“Political insider J.B. Pritzker is the financial muscle behind Mike Madigan’s political machine, funneling over a million dollars to help him in just the last year. And like Madigan, Pritzker wants to hike the income tax to over 5 percent without any fixes to repair Illinois. One can only imagine the devastation Mike Madigan could do with a lapdog billionaire at his side. Pritzker puts the insiders first and the taxpayers last.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Kirsten Kukowski
To welcome Pritzker to the race, the Illinois Republican Party is launching digital ads highlighting the Madigan-Pritzker plan to pass a devastating income tax hike with no reform to fix our broken system.
Pritzker Caught on Tax Hike Lie
Tells media one thing, insiders another
At his campaign announcement, J.B. Pritzker responded to tapes revealing his plan to raise the income tax to at least 5%.
His response to the media? The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Pritzker, “tells reporters state should start with taxing millionaires and billionaires first, not middle class.”
Except, he told Madigan machine insiders the exact opposite – admitting that his tax plan could not realistically be implemented for at least three years.
Pritzker said behind closed doors, “so lets just talk about this flat income tax, because we’re not going to be able to turn it into a millionaire’s tax, a fair tax – it’s gonna take us three years.”
“Pritzker kicked off his campaign by trying to cover up his real tax plan: a massive tax hike on every Illinoisan with no real reforms,” said Illinois Republican Party spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski. “The tape doesn’t lie. If he’s elected, J.B. Pritzker wants to take income taxes over 5 percent as soon as he takes office with no changes to bring down costs or grow jobs.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the governor’s campaign…
We’ll be frank – no one on Team Rauner is surprised by the news today.
J.B. Pritzker announced his bid for Governor and now joins a list of Democrats who want to be governor so they can raise your taxes while enacting no changes to control spending, reform government or grow jobs.
In fact, Pritzker has already said he wants to take the income tax to over 5 percent. Higher than it was under Pat Quinn!
We know they will all try to tell a different story. So, we’ve set up a fund to directly combat the anticipated attacks from J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy, and any other candidate as they try to detract from their own questionable plans.
Your contribution today will help us keep Illinois voters informed of the truth.
Here on Team Rauner, we’re working to bring back Illinois and put our state’s families first. And now matter how hard the political machine tries to stop us, we won’t give up.
