Sangamon Sun

Gov. Bruce Rauner took to social media recently to remind lawmakers what he has been saying for months: Expect a veto if any budget plan passes the General Assembly without taking property taxes into account.

“Let me be clear: To get my signature, any agreement must include real property tax relief,” Rauner said in a Facebook post. “You already pay the highest property taxes in America. It would be wrong to also lock in forever higher income taxes too. I will always stand on the side of taxpayers and homeowners and make sure we get an agreement that is fair to you.” 

The budget plan that passed the Senate on Tuesday includes raising income taxes and expanding sales taxes, but it does not offer a property tax freeze.

“After more than two years of seeking common ground it’s disappointing and frustrating that Speaker Madigan’s legislators still want to permanently raise your income taxes while refusing to enact true and lasting property tax relief,” Rauner said in the post. “The biggest issue that now stands in the way of us reaching an agreement is resistance to freezing your property taxes, and giving you the ability to control whether your property taxes go up or down in the future.”