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State finances a priority for 50th District House candidates

The two candidates for the state House District 50 seat have distinct views about the best way to improve the finances of the state of Illinois.

The two met this week with a representative of the Daily Herald editorial board for an endorsement interview.

Keith Wheeler, the Republican candidate from Oswego, pointed out that despite the promise that the money from the 2011 income tax increase would pay down a backlog of bills, the state still has a significant pile of past-due bills. The tax hike also hurt small employers, he said, as they have had to pay more taxes.

He agreed with opponent Valerie Burd's contention that property taxes are unfair, and that he would like the burden of paying for schools shifted off the backs of property owners.

Burd, of Yorkville, said she thinks the income tax increase needs to be extended, to pay the state's obligations. But she does not favor a permanent extension.

Instead, she believes a progressive - or graduated - income tax should be established. "That would be a better way to go. And I would like to move education off property taxes," she said. "Property tax is a horrible tax. It's not equitable at all."

She said it isn't fair because while a property may have increased in value, the owner's income may not have.

Wheeler said the fairest taxes would be consumption taxes, such as sales tax. But raising those taxes shouldn't be done without reforming all taxes, he said, including income and property taxes.

Better yet, he said, would be to improve the business climate of the state, to encourage more hiring. The more people earn, the more taxes will roll in, according to Wheeler. "We have to grow the pie," he said.

Burd is a former mayor and alderman of Yorkville. She is a self-employed business writer. She said the local Democratic Party asked her to run. "I thought I was out of politics, she said. But "I felt the Republican Party had moved too far to the right for me."

Wheeler owns an information technology consulting firm, and is a Bristol Township trustee.

Neither candidate supports expanding legalized gambling.

Neither cited any social issues they were especially interested in taking on, such as overturning gay marriage or addressing gun control, although Wheeler did say he believes in "traditional marriage."

The 50th District includes all or parts of Aurora, Bristol, Batavia, Campton Hills, Sugar Grove, Elburn, Geneva, Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, La Fox, St. Charles and Wasco.

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