Kane County Reporter

Dan Ugaste fears what Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker’s plans for Illinois will do to the state.

“I don’t know where he thinks the money will come from for all the things that he’s proposing,” Ugaste told the Kane County Reporter. “It’s not enough just to tax the rich as he claims. To do what he wants to do would meaning slapping every single person in Illinois with a higher tax rate.”

A new Illinois Policy Institute report details how a slew of spending programs and revenue generating ideas advanced by Pritzker will cost at least $18 billion and swell the deficit even more.

J.B. Pritzker

For families with an income of roughly $80,000, that could mean an annual tax increase of up to $3,500, along with a spike in the current 4.95 percent income tax rate to as much as 9.95 percent. In addition, the state could experience the loss of up to 132,000 jobs and up to $31.3 billion in economic activity.

Part of Pritzker’s plan centers on enacting a progressive tax that he has offered few details for in terms of how much revenue it will generate or how tax brackets might be constructed.

“It’s all just a recipe for more problems for the state,” said Ugaste, running against Democrat Richard Johnson in the 65th District. “All it will do is chase away more people and reduce the tax base even more. I don’t see any way possible to add additional spending without eliminating some of that we already have.”

Ugaste doesn’t expect to hear any opposition to the Democrats' tax-and-spend policies from his opponent, he said.

“[Johnson's] campaign is being run by (House Speaker) Mike Madigan,” Ugaste said. “What that means is once he gets to Springfield he will be willing to do whatever Madigan and Pritzker tell him to.”

The 65th House District includes Batavia, Burlington, Dundee, Elgin, Geneva, Grafton, Hampshire, Plato, Rutland and St. Charles.