SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) offered the following comments after the Illinois Senate passed a spending plan for Fiscal Year 2018 and a tax increase on July 4.
“Southern Illinois can’t afford another tax increase, our region is already suffering from an exodus of residents to Indiana, Kentucky, or Missouri or other points across the nation. I made a promise to my constituents, that I would oppose tax increases if they were not coupled with reforms to make Illinois more competitive, Fowler said. “To lend my support for another tax increase without the assurances that it would be applied to the state’s $14.7 billion backlog, would be irresponsible. It is a shame that the legislative majorities backed away from any meaningful reforms and decided to instead proceed with a tax package which endangers our already fragile Illinois economy.”