View as PDF Chicago – Tax Accountability (TA), the political action arm of Taxpayers United of America, has announced its candidate endorsements for the March 15, 2016 primary election.
“I am proud to announce endorsements of such qualified candidates in these critical races,” said Jim Tobin, Chairman of TA.
“Illinois voters need to look long and hard at the records of the incumbents in every race and ask themselves if they are truly represented. TA can stand behind every one of these candidates who have pledged to fight tax increases.”
General Primary March 15, 2016
Dan Patlak for Cook County Board of Review, 1st District
Kelly Liebmann for McHenry County Board District 6
Joe Tirio for McHenry County Recorder
Tom Wilbeck for McHenry County Board District 1
Allen Skillicorn for Illinois State Rep – 66th district
James Marter for U.S. Senate
State Senator Kyle McCarter for U.S. Congress – 15th district
Please click on the links to read more about each candidate.
View as PDF Chicago – Government bureaucrats in Westchester, Franklin Park, and Summit have placed referenda on the March 15, 2016 ballot for voters to approve Home Rule status for these villages. According to Taxpayers United of America (TUA), Home Rule means higher taxes.
“For decades, I’ve called it ‘Home Ruin,’” said Jim Tobin, president of TUA. “Why would any taxpayer want to give up their right to vote on property tax increases?”
“Home Rule always means higher taxes. Home Rule status in Illinois means that the cap limiting the amount that bureaucrats can increase property taxes is removed. It gives bureaucrats a blank check to do what they wish with your tax dollars – and without a vote. How many government bureaucrats would you trust with a blank check bearing your signature?”
“Home Rule also gives local government authority to tax nearly any product or service they want. What they don’t tell you is that such taxation drives consumers to neighboring communities, where the taxes on products and services are lower.”
“And if high taxation isn’t enough, Home Rule is used extensively to add regulations, fees, and licensing that create even more red tape for business and entrepreneurs,” said Tobin.
“We are helping taxpayers in each of these communities by revealing the truth about home rule and how damaging it is. We are working with local activists and organizations to educate voters on Home Rule and the ramifications of its implementation.”
Voters and taxpayers in Roselle SD 12 are also facing a property tax increase referendum on the ballot for the March 15, 2016 primary, costing roughly $500 every year in increased property taxes for homes valued at $250,000.
“These bureaucrats are seeking an additional $1.5 million of taxpayer funds annually for a school district totaling about 725 students. They have failed to properly account for taxpayers’ dollars, as the district is already facing a budget shortfall of $844,000 for the 2016-17 school year, and we know that 80% of these funds are typically diverted to pay for government employee salaries and benefits,” said Tobin.
“Residents of Roselle cannot afford these proposed property tax hikes, as the area’s unemployment rate is 6% with only a .85% job growth rate. Taxpayers should not be forced to take a $500 pay cut to continue business as usual in the district. Cuts must be made, consolidation must be pursued, and the government bureaucrats need to look over their options again before squeezing more taxpayers for loot, driving more homeowners out of the area by hiking their already ridiculously costly property taxes.”
You can download PDFs of our ‘Vote No’ flyers for printing and distribution below.
“For decades, I’ve called it ‘Home Ruin,’” said Jim Tobin, president of TUA. “Why would any taxpayer want to give up their right to vote on property tax increases?”
“Home Rule always means higher taxes. Home Rule status in Illinois means that the cap limiting the amount that bureaucrats can increase property taxes is removed. It gives bureaucrats a blank check to do what they wish with your tax dollars – and without a vote. How many government bureaucrats would you trust with a blank check bearing your signature?”
“Home Rule also gives local government authority to tax nearly any product or service they want. What they don’t tell you is that such taxation drives consumers to neighboring communities, where the taxes on products and services are lower.”
“And if high taxation isn’t enough, Home Rule is used extensively to add regulations, fees, and licensing that create even more red tape for business and entrepreneurs,” said Tobin.
“We are helping taxpayers in each of these communities by revealing the truth about home rule and how damaging it is. We are working with local activists and organizations to educate voters on Home Rule and the ramifications of its implementation.”
Voters and taxpayers in Roselle SD 12 are also facing a property tax increase referendum on the ballot for the March 15, 2016 primary, costing roughly $500 every year in increased property taxes for homes valued at $250,000.
“These bureaucrats are seeking an additional $1.5 million of taxpayer funds annually for a school district totaling about 725 students. They have failed to properly account for taxpayers’ dollars, as the district is already facing a budget shortfall of $844,000 for the 2016-17 school year, and we know that 80% of these funds are typically diverted to pay for government employee salaries and benefits,” said Tobin.
“Residents of Roselle cannot afford these proposed property tax hikes, as the area’s unemployment rate is 6% with only a .85% job growth rate. Taxpayers should not be forced to take a $500 pay cut to continue business as usual in the district. Cuts must be made, consolidation must be pursued, and the government bureaucrats need to look over their options again before squeezing more taxpayers for loot, driving more homeowners out of the area by hiking their already ridiculously costly property taxes.”
You can download PDFs of our ‘Vote No’ flyers for printing and distribution below.
“Government needs to live within its means and cut spending when tax revenue declines. 80% of Home Rule and other local taxes go to pay for government employees’ salaries and their benefits. By adding new taxes, government bureaucrats ensure their own high pay and lavish pensions.”
“Illinois currently has more than 12,154 annual state pensions totaling more than $100,000 each and more than 85,893 government pensions totaling more than $50,000 annually. It is economically disastrous and mathematically impossible to raise enough taxes to sustain the defunct state pension system, and yet every unit of government continues to try to do while the state has more than $111 billion in unfunded government pension liabilities and an unpaid bill backlog of more than $6 billion,” said Tobin.
“Illinois has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, the state is losing taxpayers by staggering rates every year, and you have to wonder how many people could have stayed in their homes if the property taxes weren’t so high – the second highest property taxes in the country.”
“TUA has defeated 417 local tax increase referenda since 1977. We urge voters in these four communities to tell bureaucrats that they have had enough of government leeching off of their livelihood. These tax increases are not for the benefit of the many, but the politically-connected and government employee class. This comes at the expense of taxpayers, who cannot afford such tax increases, so we urge votes to Vote No.”
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, 2016.
View as PDF Chicago—Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner delivered his second budget address before the General Assembly today, giving the first-term Republican another prominent opportunity to outline his plans for resolving Illinois’ protracted budget impasse by implementing structural reforms to the state government.
Taxpayers United of America’s (TUA) director of operations, Jared Labell, said that “Rauner is correctly imploring the Illinois General Assembly to immediately pass a balanced budget for the good of all Illinois residents and taxpayers.”
“Gov. Rauner’s address lacked the flowery campaign rhetoric from just one year ago, due in large part to the severity of the financial catastrophe the state is currently facing, and after decades of predictable governmental mismanagement. Rauner is absolutely right in his assessment that the only fiscally sound path forward for Illinois is for the legislature to pass economic and governmental reforms, while negotiating spending reductions and revenue concerns,” said Labell.
“Rauner must also be praised for standing firm and allowing the Illinois state income tax to fall by twenty-five percent when he first took office in January 2015, sunsetting a portion of the 2011 sixty-seven percent income tax hike imposed by former governor – and incessant political hack – Pat Quinn (D),” said Labell. “The state income tax is an economically crippling juggernaut and we are glad to hear that Rauner is not considering hiking it now or supporting a new state income tax on retirement income at this time.”
“I won’t support new revenue unless we have major structural reforms to grow more jobs and get more value for taxpayers. I’m insisting that we attack the root causes of our dismal economic performance,” Rauner remarked early in his budget address. He explained further, “Those are the dynamics.”
“That leaves us with only two choices: either you give the executive branch the authority to cut spending to live within our revenues. Or, we agree – together – on economic and governmental reforms, to accompany a negotiated balance of spending reductions and revenue that ensures that Illinois can be both compassionate and competitive. You choose. But please, choose now,” added Rauner.
“Attacking the root of Illinois’ atrocious economic reality is right on target. Taxpayers United of America will provide further analysis of the proposed budget, and the certain ongoing battle in the Illinois General Assembly, in the coming days and weeks,” said Labell. “Rauner makes a point that is reminiscent of a passage from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, which taxpayers would be wise to emulate. ‘There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.’”
“It is our duty, as long as we must toil under this government, to stand up for our lives, liberty, and property, ensuring that the government does not grow to be destructive of those ends. This is a start, but the fight is far from over,” concluded Labell.
