Senate bill is bad for business, trustees say
GRAYSLAKE -- Village trustees, feeling heat on business competition from southern Wisconsin, have turned thumbs down on a state Senate bill proposing to reform educational funding through higher taxes.
The village is in the process of appealing to out-of-state businesses to consider relocating to its 900-acre Central Range business development project. And they are also keenly aware of heavy competition from southern Wisconsin's aggressive economic development efforts.
(AP File)
The Senate bill calls for a sharp increase in the Illinois personal income tax rate from 3 to 5 percent, and would nearly double the corporate tax rate from 4.8 to 8 percent.
The bill is sponsored by state Sen. James Meeks, D-Chicago, and 22 other co-sponsors from Chicago, including Senate President Emil Jones. The bill is awaiting public hearings.
"Senate Bill 2288 is bad legislation for Illinois," Mayor Tim Perry told the Village Board this week at a Committee of the Whole meeting.
"It is bad for economic development in Illinois, and it will put another nail in our coffin when we compete for jobs with neighboring Wisconsin," he said.
Perry said that for every additional $10 generated by Lake County taxpayers under this Senate plan, he estimates only $6 will return to Lake County schools.