Kane County part of voter wave saying ‘no’ to more taxes

Kane County voters sent a strong message by voting down a sales tax increase on April 1. They joined voters in several townships who asked for pension reform to control taxes and a town that rejected a grocery tax.

Kane County voters hit a sales tax hike referendum with a resounding “no” on April 1, as did Bensenville voters who rejected a grocery tax and voters in multiple townships who want government pensions controlled so their property taxes stop rising.

More than 75% of Kane County voters rejected a ballot question which would have raised the county sales tax by 0.75% for public safety costs. More than 50,000 voters turned out to vote “no.”

Illinoisans already pay the:

• Second-highest property taxes in the nation
• Second-highest gas taxes in the nation
• Third-highest corporate income tax rate in the nation
• Seventh-highest sales taxes in the nation

In total, six Illinois townships – one on Nov. 1 and five more on April 1 – have voted overwhelmingly to urge state leaders to fix the state’s pension crisis to get property taxes under control. Bensenville saw 91% of voters shoot down a grocery tax.

The Kane County referendum came after it ran out of federal pandemic relief funds. The proposed sales tax would have been used for rising public safety costs. Instead, voters said “no” to new taxes by a wide margin.

Chris Lauzen, the Kane County treasurer who opposed the referendum, pointed out voters expect their government to follow the same rules families do: When money is tight, cut back on spending.

The county leaders now say they will have to cut budgets or raise revenue in a different way. Board Chair Corinne Pierog mentioned they might look at other ways to raise money, which could include increasing the gasoline tax.

But that misses the point of what voters are clearly saying: they want government to make do with what it already has. They aren’t interested in replacing Tax A with Tax B.

Voters in Kane County, the six townships and Bensenville have loudly said “no” to tax increases. Taxes are too high, and local leaders who raise grocery taxes or gas taxes or property taxes do so without the consent of those who gave them power to govern.