State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) issued the following statement after voting against the House Democrat’s proposal to increases taxes on Illinois jobs.
“On Wednesday night in true democratic fashion, Illinois jobs and businesses took another sucker punch from the same man that shut those businesses down two years ago. The same person is responsible for hundreds of thousands losing their jobs. The unemployment office paid out around a billion dollars in fraudulent claims under this administration’s mismanagement. Why should Illinois businesses pay higher unemployment rates because of the state forced closures of these mom and pop businesses? Do you think this will create job growth in Illinois? No. This bill will put all Illinois residents at risk of lower benefits while inflation spirals out of control lowering their purchasing power. This is a tax on jobs. It will create more unemployment putting more strains on our unemployment system. We should use the federal ARPA funds to pay the $4.5 billion debt of the unemployment system. There will still be close to $2 billion left for other debt. Let’s pay our debt and not use these federal funds to fill budget holes created by new pet projects. It’s time for Illinois to live within our means, grow up and be responsible.”