Dupage Policy Journal

Republican state House candidate Laura Hois questions whether Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker knows what it means to be in his position.

“Spending restraint is absolutely required to meet the needs of all Illinoisans, not just the political elites, state employees and retirees, but those in the private sector who have lost their jobs and businesses,” Hois told the DuPage Policy Journal soon after the $42 billion budget crafted by the governor easily sailed through a special session of the legislature this month. 

“We need leadership that unites rather than divides the people of our state,” added Hois, now running against incumbent state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) in the 81st District. “We need relief from high taxes.”

Hois argues nothing in the new budget, which heavily relies on funding from the federal government to fill a hole made deeper by the COVID-19 pandemic along with a $5 billion loan from the feds, fits the bill.

“The Pritzker administration should rethink its reckless spending policies in light of the state’s dire financial circumstances,” she said. “Despite Pritzker’s requests, it appears unlikely that the federal government will bail out Illinois after its decades of corruption, lack of accountability and financial mismanagement.”

Beyond that, Hois insists the state is in no position to be doing more borrowing given it's one-notch below junk credit rating.

“The last thing we need to do is borrow more money, which would kick the can farther down the road burdening our grandchildren,” she said. “We need tax reform, ethics reform and pension reform now to save the state of Illinois. Everyone knows Illinois’ debt load is unsustainable.”

Hois adds that Pritzker’s inflexibility in the way he has handled the coronavirus pandemic has only made matters worse.

"He seems to support arbitrary tactics aimed at achieving political goals when he should be following the data and the science to best protect the public's health while minimizing economic pain,” she said, pointing to his insistence on still trying to implement his progressive tax proposal in the face of everything now happening as yet another example of inflexibility. “The progressive tax should be taken off the ballot, permanently. The progressive tax was bad for Illinois before the COVID-19 crisis, and would be even more devastating for Illinois businesses and families in a post-pandemic economy.”