Weighing the Stretch Run to May 31
Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) and Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea)
Two top leaders in the House Republican and Democratic caucuses are split on how top issues should be addressed in the final seven weeks of the spring legislative session.
Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) and Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) joined The Illinoize podcast discussed property tax reform, gasoline taxes, and the fight over property tax breaks for a new Bears stadium.
Ugaste, who has formed a new House Republican working group on property taxes, responded to Governor JB Pritzker’s recent criticism of Republicans, claiming they are “quite confused and think that this is a state issue when it is actually a local issue.”
Ugaste said reforming property taxes must come from the state legislature and everyone, including Pritzker, knows it.
“He made his statement. It’s wrong. We all know it’s wrong.” Ugaste said. “What I’m I’m willing to do is put forth what we can do together. And you know what? He can take a victory lap on it too when it’s all said and done, because it’s a win win for everyone. But mostly it’s a win for the people of the state of Illinois. We need to make life more affordable for the people in the state of Illinois. The governor is talking about [affordability], but we’re looking to do something about it.”
Ugaste reiterated legislation to shift pension savings to property tax reform, and proposals to stop property tax increases, like so-called “backdoor referendums” to help prevent skyrocketing tax rates.
Many Democrats have been pushing for a ballot question for a graduated income tax or a so-called “millionaire surcharge” to bring new revenue in to pay for a portion of property tax relief.
Hoffman says he’s unsure about either option.
“Well, the graduated income tax has been litigated. Right or wrong, the voters have spoken, and I think it would be a mistake to rerun that campaign. I think you should listen to the voters,” he said. “The issue of the millionaire’s tax, I’m still looking at it, understanding it. I want to make sure whatever we do put on the ballot, number one is going to create additional revenue for the state for important items. Number two, I think we’ve got to be careful about driving individuals out of the state, moving to other states because of our tax policies.”
The property tax legislation to help the Chicago Bears build a stadium in Arlington Heights, known as “Payment in Lieu of Taxes,” or PILOT, remains stalled.
Hoffman responded to concerns within the House Democratic caucus.
“I do know from our caucus they’re very concerned about giving large sums of money to billionaires to help build a stadium. PILOT is a way of property tax certainty. That’s what it is,” he said. “Whether we can ultimately come to an agreement, I think, depends on several things. There are a lot of needs throughout the entire state, whether you represent Arlington Heights, whether you represent the city of Chicago or whether you represent central or southern or southwestern Illinois.”
Ugaste says Republicans remain focused on reducing property taxes for homeowners first.
“[Republicans] all want it done in a way that doesn’t force extra taxes on other people in the state of Illinois, whether that is on the property taxpayers near where the projects are being looked at, as was discussed in the megaprojects bill that was initially passed through committee a few weeks back, or if it is through some other means that that the supermajority the Democrats decide to come up with that would just cause taxes to go up on other taxpayers in the state,” Ugaste said. “We aren’t interested in that. While we are willing to work with the Bears and we completely understand why they want tax certainty on property taxes going forward because of the amount they’d be looking to pay, we need tax relief for other people too.”
Click below to view our full interviews with Ugaste and Hoffman:
