Metro East Sun

Jennifer Korte, candidate for state representative in the 112th District, recently gave her opinion on the issue of high taxes in Illinois.

Korte criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker for failing to use COVID relief funds to provide actual tax relief by replenishing the depleted Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

"We should have replenished the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund instead of only partially paying back the fund," Korte told Metro East Sun. "These funds were depleted because of the mandatory lockdown of our economy. Instead of making responsible choices, my opponent supported using the COVID-19 Relief funds for election year gimmicks designed to help elect Democrats."

Illinois' property tax rate is the second highest in the nation at 2.27%, behind only New Jersey, according to a June report by Rocket Mortgage. The owner of a $194,500 home in Illinois will pay $4,942 annually in property taxes. 30 states have property tax rates lower than 1%.

"The issue of property taxes is especially concerning in the area I am running to represent," Korte said. "Living in Madison County, many people already work in St. Louis and commute from the Illinois side of the river. As taxes continue to go up, many in our region are making the decision to leave Illinois. We are losing population because our taxes are too high."

Pritzker doubled Illinois' gas tax from 19 cents to 38 cents in 2019, according to Fox News. Pritzker also instituted an annual gas tax increase. Illinois Democrats passed legislation postponing this year's scheduled gas tax increase of 2.2 cents from July to January, Fox News reported.

"The temporary tax relief has done little to bring down the price of gas in Illinois. People are still getting gas in Missouri. We are wasting the COVID-19 relief funds so that Democrats can pretend they are doing something to help working families," Korte said.

The gas tax increase delay was part of a bundle of tax rebates and delays in the record $46.5 billion FY 23 budget, according to Illinois Policy. The tax rebates and delays will save the average Illinois family $556. The 2.2 cents increase to the gas tax will take effect Jan. 2023, and will be followed by another increase in July 2023, likely of 3.8 cents per gallon, bringing Illinois' total gasoline tax up to 45.2 cents per gallon.

A March report by WalletHub found that Illinois has the tenth overall highest tax burden in the nation at 9.7%. The report weighed property taxes, income taxes, and sales and excise taxes.