In a state already burdened with some of the highest taxes in the nation, Madison County voters Tuesday night rejected a proposal to raise local sales taxes.
This marks the proposal’s third strike, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
The 1 percent hike was aimed at funneling $23.4 million annually to area schools, according to the News-Democrat. Sixty-five percent of voters scuttled the idea, though the margin has slimmed since its first proposal in 2011 when 80 percent of voters rejected the measure. Last year, it narrowly avoided being approved when only 250 votes kept it from becoming law.
Tonya Hildenbrand, GOP candidate for the 57th District State Senate seat.
| Ballotpedia.org
The higher margin of defeat may have been due in some part to what has gone on regarding taxes in the interim. Last summer, the state Senate overrode a veto by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to raise income taxes by 32 percent, and with fear that the state tax burden is trimming the population, voters may have been more reluctant to approve the measure.
A group opposing the tax increase, Madison County Citizens for Sustainable Education, declared victory on its Facebook page: “Thank you! We won! Tell your school district enough!”
“This is a major victory for families, businesses and jobs in Madison County. It was an intense and successful grassroots effort. The voters have spoken three times now, and it would be very disappointing if it is placed on the ballot again,” the News-Democrat quoted spokeswoman Nancy Moss as saying.
State House and Senate seats
In the 54th District state Senate race, Edwardsville Republican Jason Plummer’s bid to succeed state Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) will go forward. With 3,480 votes, Plummer defeated three other Republican candidates (Rafael Him, George Barber and Benjamin L. Stratemeyer) by a margin of 66 percent to win the party’s nod for the Nov. 6 general election.
In the 57th District, comprising Madison and St. Clair counties, Tanya Hildenbrand, a 30-year veteran of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, defeated radio shock jock Bob Romanik 65 percent to 35 percent, according to Ballotpedia.com. Romanik had been scolded by party officials in St. Clair County for allegedly racist remarks delivered on air.
Hildenbrand will compete in November for the state Senate seat against Democrat Christopher Belt to replace Sen. James F. Clayborne Jr. (D-Belleville).
In the race for the 108th District state House seat, incumbent Charles Meier (R-Okawville) held off opponent Don Moore, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who had ran as the outsider candidate, by a margin of 1,154 votes.
In the battle for the 112th State House District, Dwight Kay, a Republican from Glen Carbon, defeated challenger Wendy Erhart by 1,207 votes. Kay will have a rematch come November against Katie Stewart (D-Edwardsville), who took the seat from him two years ago, according to the News-Democrat.
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