Sangamon Sun

The state budget passage pulled the mask off the Democratic Party to reveal the ugly truth: It is all about raising taxes without any pretense of reform, U.S. Peter Roskam (R-IL) said on a recent radio program.

“When push comes to shove, they are sticking it to the taxpayers,” Roskam told Dan Proft and guest host Kristen McQueary on "Chicago’s Morning Answer" radio show.

Proft is a principal of Local Government Information Services, which owns this publication.

Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL 6th District)

Although Roskam acknowledged that some Republicans voted for the new state budget that increases income taxes to bring in $5 billion, he argued they were in the minority.

“It wasn’t engineered and designed and jammed through by them," he said. "This was a Mike Madigan enterprise."

According to the Daily Herald, someone making $34,000 a year will now pay an additional $382 in income taxes per year.  A family of three making $75,000 will pay an additional $822 per year, and a family of four making $150,000 will pay an additional $1,695 in income taxes per year.

“They (the Democrats) are acting with impunity," Roskam said. "They are doing it because they can. Voters have to remember who did this in 2018.”

Roskam also said to forget about any hope of the United States government helping Illinois if the state were to attempt to declare bankruptcy.

“It’s a pipe dream," he said. "Capitol Hill will have zero tolerance for any sort of bailout efforts."

Roskam said Republicans need to show that they can lead on a national level, such as with efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act.

“The option of being a party that has campaigned against Obamacare and has made proposals about these changes not being able to get that done would be outrageous,” Roskam said.