GOP candidates for governor blast Pritzker's 'so-called relief' plan

The five gubernatorial candidates competing in the June 28 Republican primary had harsh words for Gov. J.B. Pritzker's budget address Wednesday.

Darren Bailey"Pritzker, the Democrat Party, and the political elites have abandoned working families. Now he's having a tough time with his reelection, so he's offering an empty box of chocolates before Valentine's Day and calling it tax relief. Maybe for a trust fund billionaire like J.B., temporarily not raising taxes sounds like tax relief, but for the working families across Illinois who are struggling to pay bills and keep gas in their cars, deciding not to take an extra couple of pennies from them is a slap in the face. We need serious reforms in Springfield that aren't reliant on federal bailouts and benefit working families and taxpayers long term, not temporary shams during election years."

Richard Irvin"It is no surprise that the tax-hiker-in-chief is attempting to rewrite history today to mislead Illinois voters in an election year with gimmicks that rely on a disappearing federal bailout. This is the same governor who pushed for the largest tax hike in our state's history on Illinois families and businesses, and we know he plans to raise billions more in taxes when the federal money runs out. The only way to stop Pritzker's permanent tax hike campaign is at the ballot box in November."

Gary Rabine "Today we witnessed how out of touch our billionaire governor, J.B. Pritzker, is with the people of Illinois. In his State of the State/Budget address today, he described the state of Illinois in terms that only someone who spends his days in the cocoon of a North Side mansion or private jet could use. J.B. Pritzker has not done one thing to improve the fundamental fiscal trajectory of the state. Biden paid off J.B.'s Illinois credit cards last year, but we are still in a fiscal death-spiral. A one-time bailout from the federal government does not equate with sound fiscal management.

Jesse Sullivan"Gov. J.B. Pritzker's State of the State is nothing more than attempted bribery. He's using a classic election year tactic of bait-and-switch budgeting: proposing $1 billion in temporary tax cuts after permanently hiking taxes by $5.4 billion. His own budget documents show his math doesn't work. His budget will show a year-end deficit despite federal COVID aid."

Paul Schimpf"With Illinoisans already burdened by the highest effective tax rates in the nation, it is extremely offensive that Governor Pritzker would refer to his tax cut illusion as 'relief.' The illusion of this so-called relief becomes even more galling when we consider that at the height of the pandemic, when Illinois families were struggling the most, Governor Pritzker attempted to increase the tax burden. But now, as electoral prospects appear less favorable, he presents himself as a tax-cutting leader. We asked for solutions, but all the governor offered was gimmicks."