House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) joined candidates Amy Elik (R-111th) and Lisa Ciampoli (R-112th), as well as Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler at a press conference outside the courthouse Thursday to discuss a reform agenda aimed at lowering taxes and tackling corruption.
Elik faces Democrat incumbent Rep. Monica Bristow (D-Alton), first elected in 2018, and Ciampoli faces Democrat incumbent Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Collinsville), first elected in 2016. Prenzler, serving his first term, faces Democrat Bob Daiber, former regional superintendent of schools.
“Ethics has and will continue to be our state’s biggest roadblock as long as Mike Madigan is still Speaker,” said Durkin, who has called for the Speaker to resign amid the ongoing federal investigation and Madigan’s refusal to testify in front of the House Special Investigating Committee.
“Mike Madigan needs friends now more than ever, and he has found that in Katie Stuart and Monica Bristow. We can take a step forward on November 3rd by electing candidates that won’t come to Springfield to do Madigan’s bidding, but will make better choices for Madison County and the State of Illinois,” Durkin said.
Elik discussed the need for tax relief in Madison County, a reform measure that she believes is second only to ethics reform in the Illinois House, according to a press release.
“We don’t need another tax in Illinois, what we need is responsible spending,” said Elik, who is opposed to the graduated income tax amendment pushed by Gov. JB Pritzker.
“As a CPA who has worked with numerous small businesses, I know that they make decisions based on taxes," she said. "With the graduated income tax amendment expected to increase taxes on small businesses by at least 50%, it will drive them out of Illinois at a time we can least afford to lose any more jobs and the revenue they create.”
Elik said the tax amendment proposal also would hurt senior citizens.
“As you are all aware, Illinois Democratic State Treasurer Mike Frerichs let it slip that the Democrats intend to use this tax as a means to start taxing retirement income, including pensions and 401ks," she said. "Seniors can’t afford that as they worry about paying ever increasing property taxes since the State of Illinois can’t get their fiscal house in order."
Ciampoli has urged voters to let Springfield know that automatic pay raises for legislators should stop by voting "yes" on an advisory referendum question in Madison County.
She said Stuart has twice voted to increase her own pay.
“My opponent, Katie Stuart, has voted herself a pay raise for two years in a row, at a time when Illinois taxpayers can least afford it,” said Ciampoli. “Instead of working on reforms that would clean up corruption and attract new businesses to Illinois, Katie Stuart is more interested in lining her own pocket.”
Another question on the ballot urges Madison County officials to stop the practice of "double dipping," which critics of the practice say has led to higher property taxes at the local level.
While those two referenda questions are non-binding, Ciampoli said Madison County voters can send a clear message to the rest of the state that voters want reform.
Prenzler, elected as a fiscal conservative, said in his first term he has reduced the county's reliance on property tax funds.
“For the last three and a half years we have done our part to reduce the property tax funds given to local government," he said. "Right now only 7.6% of the tax bill goes to the county government, a significant decrease to previous years, but there is more that we can and need to improve on.”
Prenzler urges support for a third referendum question that proposes to reduce the maximum general fund tax rate.
“Every effort we can take to reduce taxes here in Madison County and the larger State of Illinois is an opportunity we need to take,” he said. “Carrying as heavy a tax burden as we do, it’s important to make these small changes, because in the long run it'll make all the difference.”