Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider says he walked away from new Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s inaugural address feeling more fearful for the state than ever.
“It’s clear that Governor Pritzker’s agenda will be the same agenda that has dragged our state down for decades: borrow, tax, spend, repeat,” Schneider said in a message emailed to members following Pritzker’s address Jan. 14. “Over the course of the election and again today, Pritzker promised billions of dollars in new spending, programs and regulations, all of which our state cannot afford.”
Schneider intimated that he thinks it is frightening how little regard, in his opinion, Pritzker and Democratic lawmakers as a whole seem to have for budgeting and fiscal responsibility.
Tim Schneider
“And so begins the reign of the tax-hiking, tax-avoiding billionaire, [House Speaker Mike] Madigan’s hand-picked handmaiden for the government unions and the special interests feeding on our tax dollars,” he added.
The Chicago Tribune reported Pritzker announced he plans to double the government salaries of some of his most senior level staffers with supplemental payments from his own pocket, a move Schneider worries could ultimately do more harm than good.
“Not only does this trample ethical limitations on private payments to public servants, but it sends a clear message to all other government workers too—more is coming to you,” he added in his email.
Additionally, higher pay ultimately translates to higher pension payments, which Schneider points out come on the backs of already overburdened taxpayers.
“So, generations of Illinoisans who don’t work for government and have no right to maintain their salary when they stop working for their current employer will pay for Pritzker’s ‘largesse,’” he added.
But Schneider vowed that he and diehard Republicans aren’t about to give up.
“Over the coming weeks and months, we will hold Pritzker, Madigan, (Senate President John) Cullerton and all Democrats accountable for their false promises, because we know that they are the main culprits behind Illinois’s fiscal demise,” he added. “We won’t be afraid to speak out against the latest policy disasters Illinois Democrats are embracing.”
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