Poll: Taxes, economy top voter concerns

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Voters say taxes and economic concerns top the list of issues facing Illinois.

The Illinois Policy Institute’s newest Lincoln Poll found that more than half of Illinois voters selected high taxes as a top one-or-two issue facing the state. Next-highest was the economy, selected by 41% of respondents.

IPI policy analyst Lily Rossi said Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers are not listening to these concerns.

“Just last week or two weeks ago they passed a record-high budget that sticks Illinois families and businesses with over $800 million in new taxes,” Rossi told The Center Square.

According to the poll, concern about the economy is up 8 percentage points from last year.

Rossi said state leaders should ensure responsible budgeting by not spending more than taxpayers can bear.

“Just last year, for example, taxpayers were on the hook for $3 million spent on pickleball courts and $1 million to rethink capitalism,” Rossi said.

The poll of 517 likely Illinois voters was taken May 9 to 11 by M3 Strategies for the Illinois Policy Institute. The margin of error is 4.13 percentage points.

Sixty-one percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the value their community gets for property taxes.

“That is a really big issue because we see those taxes hurting Illinois families and businesses, and then we see those families and businesses leaving the state,” Rossi said.

According to IPI, Illinois property taxes are more than double the national average, at an effective rate of 1.88%.

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, said he is disappointed that the state’s property tax working group has gone two legislative sessions without moving substantive reform.

“None of these reforms are easy. It’s a difficult problem to correct, but it’s something that is impacting too many residents, and it has to be addressed,” DeLuca told The Center Square.

DeLuca said he would like to see more effort put toward property tax relief and reform.