McCloy on Democrats blocking tax relief for tips, overtime: ‘Springfield is bleeding workers dry’
Kristina McCloy, founder of Concerned Parents of Illinois, said the state’s refusal to adopt federal tax relief for tips and overtime under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) unfairly burdens hardworking families and supports unsustainable Democratic policies.
Under the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, eligible workers can deduct up to $12,500 individually, or $25,000 for married couples, in qualified tip or overtime income from federal taxable income through 2028.
Illinois, however, has chosen not to align its tax code with those provisions, leaving such earnings fully taxable at the state level.
“Illinois blocked tax relief on tips and overtime because Democrats need a permanent class of workhorses to keep their failed policies alive,” McCloy told the DuPage Policy Journal.
While several states have moved to align their tax codes with the federal deductions, Illinois and several other Democratic-led states, including New York, California and Colorado, have chosen not to adopt the provisions.
On Dec. 10 U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused those states of preventing workers from receiving tax relief approved at the federal level.
“This partisan stonewalling is a direct assault on the very families and workers liberal politicians claim to champion,” Bessent said in a press release. “By denying their residents access to these important tax cuts, these governors and legislators are forcing hardworking Americans to shoulder higher state tax burdens, robbing them of the relief they deserve and exacerbating the financial squeeze on low- and middle-income households.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the policy directly affects an estimated 86,200 waiters and waitresses and more than 100,000 app-based drivers statewide whose tip income remains subject to state income tax.
Overtime earnings are also impacted for more than 576,000 manufacturing workers, according to estimates from the Illinois State University Census Data Center, along with other workers who regularly rely on overtime pay.
McCloy called the approach “exploitation, not budgeting,” noting workers who depend on extra hours and gratuities are being used to support long-term government spending.
“They keep the people who work the hardest fully taxed so they can bankroll pensions and nonstop political handouts,” she said.
McCloy said that ongoing tax increases are being used to sustain Democrat-controlled state policies and political ambitions at the expense of working Illinois residents.
“Springfield is bleeding workers dry to keep a collapsing Democrat system on life support and to preserve Pritzker’s facade for his presidential ambitions,” she said.
Since Gov. J.B. Pritzker took office, Illinois has enacted 49 tax increases, and per-resident tax collections have increased 44%, according to Illinois Policy.
Although state revenues exceeded expectations by $717 million in 2025, Illinois under Pritzker is moving forward with plans for a $482 million tax increase in the 2026 budget.
Illinois Policy also reports Illinois has the highest combined state and local tax burden in the nation, with median-income households paying about $13,099 annually—roughly 52% above the national average.
McCloy is the founder of Concerned Parents of Illinois, a grassroots parent advocacy organization she launched during the COVID lockdowns, and a former Downer Grove Township trustee and Trump delegate who lives in Hinsdale with her family and focuses on mobilizing parents and conservatives to influence local schools and government.
Concerned Parents of Illinois is a grassroots advocacy group focused on empowering parents, promoting parental choice in education and advancing conservative principles related to family, education, and community policy through outreach, education and local engagement across the state.