BossMadigan.com said both Eddie Jackson and William Haine had voted in favor of the 2011 temporary tax increase. | File photo
BossMadigan.com said both Eddie Jackson and William Haine had voted in favor of the 2011 temporary tax increase. | File photo
The Illinois Republican Party added three more names to www.BossMadigan.com this week: state Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton), state Rep. Eddie Jackson (D-East St. Louis) and state Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island).
The trio joined the website's list of lawmakers and stakeholders whom the GOP has singled out as supporters of House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).
“Mike Halpin, Eddie Jackson and Bill Haine have all personally benefited from Mike Madigan, taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Madigan in exchange for rubber-stamping his disastrous policies," Illinois Republican Party spokesman Steven Yaffe said. "As thousands flee Illinois, it’s time for them to admit their mistakes and work to oppose giving Madigan yet another term as speaker.”
BossMadigan.com said both Jackson and Haine had voted in favor of the 2011 temporary tax increase, which raised the average Illinois taxpayer's income tax by approximately 67 percent. While the Taxpayer Accountability and Budget Stabilization Act expired in January 2015, the additional $31.6 billion in revenue did not pay off the state's unpaid bill backlog. Instead, the state began 2011 with an $8.5 billion backlog and ended 2015 with a $7 billion backlog. Since then, the unpaid bills have increased to more than $10 billion amid the budget impasse.
By spotlighting campaign contributions from big-money donors and lawmakers' voting records on the website, the state GOP aims to pressure state House legislators into choosing a new speaker and breaking Madigan's grip on the Illinois House.
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