5 NEW HOME RULE VICTORIES AND NEW CHALLENGES

By on November 7, 2018   /   Illinois, Items of Interest, Latest, News Releases, Pension Reform, Press  

Last night was a series of mixed blessings for taxpayers.

Yesterday taxpayers resoundingly turned down home rule from entering their communities. Beach Park, Lemont, Winthrop Harbor, Prospect Heights, and Zion all voted “No” on adopting Home Rule. By rejecting Home Rule, taxpayers have refused to give local politicians unlimited taxing power.

“I am happy for all of our local advocates,” said Taxpayers United of America (TUA) President, Jim Tobin, upon hearing of the victories. “TUA has warned for years that Home Rule means home ruin. This shows we are being heard loud and clear. I am hopeful this overwhelming victory discourages other power hungry local politicians, but governmental greed knows no limit. We have defeated 431 local tax increase referenda since 1977.”

However, the battle for the Illinois statewide government ended on a less rosy tone.

J. B. Pritzker ran over incumbent Bruce Rauner for Illinois Governor in an unsurprising victory. Rauner, who refused to sign a Tax Accountability taxpayer protection pledge, ran an ugly Republican primary campaign against Jeanne Ives. Representative Ives had scored a perfect 100% while Rauner only scored a 92% in our TUA Tax Survey of the 99th Illinois General Assembly. Representative Ives had also signed a taxpayer protection pledge.

Rauner’s attack on a committed taxpayer advocate combined with the tens of millions in funds for the Pritzker propaganda machine sealed the fate of the Republican governor.

Now with a committed tax raiser back in the governor’s seat and a Democrat majority, it falls to taxpayers to resist the Income Tax Increase Amendment, a graduated income tax increase for middle class taxpayers.

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CHICAGO FED PROPOSAL TO HELP ILLINOIS: NEW STATEWIDE PROPERTY TAX!

By on May 16, 2018   /   Illinois, Latest, News Releases, Pension Reform, Press  

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CHICAGO—The president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today condemned the recommendation released May 13 under the letterhead of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to introduce a statewide 1% property tax to bail out the floundering government-employee pension plans in the state.
“This recommendation is not only astounding, it’s irresponsible,” said Jim Tobin, TUA president, economist and former Federal Reserve auditor.
“Illinois taxpayers already are heavily subsidizing the lavish, gold-plated pension plans of retired government employees. The $5 billion generated by the latest state income tax increase is being poured into the black hole of the state pension funds, and still the funds are essentially insolvent.”
“It’s impossible for the state to tax its way out of this mess, but tax thieves still propose new and higher taxes for Illinois taxpayers. More taxpayers have fled Illinois than any other state, but this doesn’t seem to register with tax-and-spend politicians.”
“The reasons given for this recommendation are pathetic. Because homeowners purportedly have benefited most from government ‘services,’ say the three authors of this proposal, they should pay a larger share of the costs of bailing out the state pension plans. In other words, they say the most successful people in the private sector should pay more to support these extravagant pension plans.”
“Illinois is bankrupt in fact, if not in name, and the only way to keep the state from going under is to place a state constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot to allow reductions in these pension benefits. All new government hires should be put into their own 401(k) accounts, and current retirees must greatly increase their contributions to their pension plans.”
“A statewide 1% property tax would devastate the already-feeble Illinois economy, and accelerate the departure of the middle class from Illinois.”

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Tax Accountability Endorses Jeanne Ives in Illinois’ GOP Gubernatorial Primary

By on January 16, 2018   /   Illinois, Latest, News Releases  

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Chicago – Tax Accountability (TA) has announced its endorsement of Representative Jeanne Ives for the March 20, 2018 GOP primary election.
“I am proud to announce the endorsement of such a qualified candidate in this critical race,” said Jim Tobin, Chairman of TA.
Representative Ives (R-42) has an impeccable tax voting record. During her tenure in the Illinois House, she as always ranked as a taxpayer friend in Taxpayers United of America’s tax survey. Astoundingly, she is also the first to receive a perfect 100% in the past 34 years .
Click to View Tax Survey of the 99th Illinois General Assembly. 
Click to View Tax Survey of the 98th Illinois General Assembly
If that were not enough, Representative Ives has expressed a commitment to oppose the income tax increase amendment, which is a graduated income tax increase for Illinois. She has also pledged to support economic freedom by working to decrease the overall tax burden of Illinois taxpayers. Her commitment to these positions is the same as the mission of Tax Accountability: restoring economic freedom to Illinois.
“2018 will be a pivotal year for Illinois. Taxpayers are fed up with the corruption, cronyism, and abuse they have suffered at the hands of a long list of career politicians who see Illinois taxpayers as the source of their own personal wealth. The time is right. She has what it takes to win and to lead Illinois back to a vibrant, prosperous, and free economy.”

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