Local State Senators Facilitate Sales Tax Hike – Roll Calls for House & Senate

Educators know that people don’t notice sales taxes, so they convinced the Illinois General Assembly to enact legislation to allow sales taxes to be raised and designated for schools.

People would be told that property taxes would be cut, but I’ve watched such false promises since the early 1970’s the Resource Equalizer State Aid to Education Formula was passed.

It funneled hundreds of million of dollars into schools.

In return, dual (grade and high school) districts were mandated to lower their property tax rates in a couple of years.

Did that happen?

No.

Instead the school folks came in and repealed the requirement that real estate tax rates be rolled back to compensate for the increase in State Aid.

As I noted when the bill was first passed, as soon as money was borrowed using the stream of sales tax as the repayment mechanism, there would be no way to repeal the tax.

Since all school districts in the county would be in on the bonanza, the tax would never disappear. Some district would always have outstanding building or repair bonds.

There was one saving grace in the original law.

County Boards had to agree to put the referendum on the ballot.

If they did not, the sales tax hike referendum obviously could not pass.

Now, tax hike-minded educators have convinced the Senate and the House to pass Senate Bill 2170.

Locally both State Senator Pam Althoff and Dan Duffy voted for to get rid of this “check and balance.” You see the 35-16 l call below:

The Senate roll call for SB 2170.

In the Illinois House, the overwhelming 78-39 vote was split for State Representatives covering McHenry County.

The House roll call on SB 2170.

State Reps. Jack Franks and Mike Tryon voted “No.” State Rep. Mark Beaubien voted for the bill. The roll call follows:


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