Sangamon Sun

Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker refused to answer when asked whether he would raise the state income tax on everyone to 5 percent, Champaign television station WCIA reported recently.

The Illinois Republican Party jumped on his silence, saying he's already laid out his agenda.

"But Pritzker did admit to favoring (House Speaker Michael) Madigan’s stopgap spending plan – an effort to force a massive tax increase with no reforms," GOP spokesperson Steven Yaffe said. "Then, Pritzker repeated his Madigan talking points, proclaiming that reforms demanded by the people – term limits, a property tax freeze, and pro-growth policies – are 'misguided.' "

Madigan (D-Chicago) has publicly pushed for the state income tax to gofrom its current 3.75 percent back to 5 percent, where it was before Gov. Bruce Rauner let the rate expire. According to the Republicans, Pritzker has previously supported this strategy behind closed doors, though he would not reiterate that support in the recent interview with WCIA.

More recently, speaking with college Democrats at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Pritzker said he supported a graduated income tax and called Rauner’s proposed reforms misguided.

“This election isn’t about money; it is about values,” Pritzker said, according to Carbondale station WSIU. “It is about standing up for progressive values. It’s about standing up and saying that millionaires and billionaires ought to pay a higher rate of tax than people who make 20 and 30 and 40 and $50,000 a year.”