PEORIA, Ill. – He says there are some things he didn’t like about the state budget Governor JB Pritzker signed in to law Tuesday.
But, on the whole, Peoria State Senator Dave Koehler thinks the spending plan that allegedly includes a surplus and temporary tax relief is a good thing.
“Yes, a lot of that (surplus) was because the federal government helped us out quite a bit during the pandemic,” said Koehler (D-Peoria). “But, it’s also because businesses are back. Our biggest area of (revenue) increase was corporate income tax.”
While Koehler calls the budget the best one he’s seen since he’s been in office, he would have preferred to see some of the tax relief doled out differently.
“We could have actually bundled some of the way we’re going to try to give relief to taxpayers in a different way that could have maybe been a little more significant to the families,” said Koehler.
Koehler says some may make fun of the idea of everyone in the state getting $50 checks, but the relief is greater, for example, for single parents.
Koehler doesn’t agree, though, with Republicans who still claim more of the tax relief should be made permanent.
“All the issues that are out there are going to continue to be addressed in the future,” said Koehler. “If people are earnest and sincere about addressing those issues, and not just because it’s an election year, then I think we should have that discussion.”
Koehler admits, though, that what was a part of the budget signed into law by a Democrat governor could also be thought of as an election-year ploy. He says the GOP proposal to cap the state gas tax at 18 cents per gallon would be detrimental to the state’s road fund.
