For Immediate Release:
Wednesday February 20, 2019
Contact:
Toby Trimmer, Communications Director
(217) 622-7547 | toby@ildcca.org

IDCCA: PRITZKER’S BUDGET PLAN PUTS ILLINOIS ON TRACK FOR FISCAL STABILITY & A FUNCTIONING GOVERNMENT

President of grassroots Democratic group ready to help promote Governor’s bold blueprint

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – IDCCA President Kristina Zahorik was in the audience to observe newly-inaugurated Democrat J.B. Pritzker deliver his first budget presentation to a joint meeting of the General Assembly. A leader among grassroots Illinois Democrats, Zahorik says Pritzker didn’t glaze over the challenges facing the state as he laid out a responsible path to fiscal stability and long-term prosperity.

“Governor Pritzker is refreshingly up front, honest and transparent with Illinoisans,” Zahorik said. “There’s a recognition that the path forward is tough, but the approach to restore fiscal stability and government functionality isn’t paved on the backs of the middle-class as we’ve seen in the past. He’s signaling a clear change in priorities, calling on all Illinoisans to come together as partners, not as adversaries.”

Pritzker’s budget approach avoids the gimmicks of the past. Although Democrats are inheriting a structural deficit, growing costs to the pension systems that provide benefits to hundreds of thousands workers and retirees, and an unpaid bill backlog that exceeds $8 billion, Pritzker seeks to address these challenges and make strong investment in schools through a direct call for revenue that won’t increase the income tax.

“Part of long-term path to a vibrant Illinois includes continued investment in education at every level – early childhood, elementary and secondary schools and higher education,” Zahorik said. “After years of chaos and uncertainty, middle-class families can applaud the priority JB Pritzker has placed on education without raising the income tax.”

Pritzker, however, did say that Illinois must move toward stability through a graduated income tax that calls on higher income earners to pay a higher amount and lower earners to pay a lower rate. That proposal will require a constitutional change that voters can consider in 2020.

“Illinoisans know our income tax system is outdated and unfair,” Zahorik said. “Most states have a modernized graduated income tax system and it’s time to make the change. Our grassroots association is at the ready to help support and pass a fair tax.”

Zahorik says as she travels throughout Illinois meeting with rank-and-file Democrats, she will share the Governor’s plans to return stability and functionality to government.

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About the IDCCA…

The Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association (IDCCA) is a statewide, grassroots Democratic Party organization comprised of the elected Democratic County Chairs in all 102 counties in Illinois. The mission of the IDCCA is to help elect Democrats in every county and region of Illinois while continuing to grow the Democratic Party throughout the state. McHenry County Chair Kristina Zahorik is the President of the IDCCA.

Learn more at www.ildcca.orgwww.facebook.com/ILDCCA and www.twitter.com/ILDCCA