From State Rep. Steve Reick:
Veto Session: Death and Taxes, Lots and Lots of Taxes
The fall veto session ended in the wee hours of Halloween morning, which was apt when you consider the horrors that were unleashed on the taxpayers of Illinois during those three days.
There was one bit of good news as we passed a bill (S.B. 642, HFA #2) to increase the maximum income limitation for the Senior Freeze Homestead Exemption from $65,000 to $75,000 starting in 2026, increasing to $77,000 for 2027 and $79,000 for 2028 and thereafter. This is good news for seniors on fixed incomes, and has been a priority of mine for some time.
Other than that, Veto Session was a litany of new taxes, increased fees and complete disregard for the heartfelt beliefs of those who are marginalized because they live in legislative districts drawn to maximize the power of Democrats.
- Assisted suicide would be legal in Illinois, thanks to the passage of S.B. 1950, an amendment to a bill originally titled “Sanitary Food Preparation”. I kid you not. If this doesn’t scream “Soylent Green is People!”, I don’t know what does. You might think I’m being disrespectful, but it’s nowhere as disrespectful as the cheering that occurred on the House floor when the bill was passed. As of this writing, the Governor has not committed to signing the bill, so there’s still hope that we won’t go down this path.
- Any time you see the words “clean” and “affordable” in the title of a bill, grab your wallet. The “Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act” (S.B. 25) extends ratepayer subsidies to battery storage projects and “energy efficiency” programs with no long-term guarantee of price savings. In fact, it comes with an estimated $8 billion rate hike to families and businesses who pay electric bills with no caps on rate increases. S.B. 25 also takes away from local governments the authority to regulate the zoning and siting of battery projects while reducing the permit fees that counties may charge for renewable projects. Just remember that batteries simply store electricity, they do nothing to generate more electricity to keep up with ever-increasing demand. When I asked whether the bill included any language or cost estimate for linking these batteries to the grid, the answer was “no”.
- Illinois ties a large part of its tax code to Federal law. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget last month projected a $267 million deficit in fiscal year 2026, partly due to corporate tax cuts which were part of House Resolution 1 that was signed on July 4. The most notable change approved by Congress allows manufacturers to take an immediate deduction (full expensing) for the cost of assets as soon as they are placed into service, allowing businesses to save more money in the short term (at the expense of the amount of revenue the state receives). Tax revenue being a higher priority than creating a welcoming business environment, the House passed S.B. 1911, HFA #1, a bill to “decouple” full expensing of the state’s corporate tax code along with other changes from the Federal tax code to allow the state to divert $144 million from productive use into the gaping maw of state government in FY26.
- No legislative session would be complete without a pension bill. This session was no different, as House Amendment #2 to S.B. 1937 was voted out of Committee to be attached to the underlying bill which is already on the floor awaiting second reading. I’ll not go too deeply into this 646-page long dog’s breakfast given to those who will now have to work less to earn enhanced benefits other than to say that COGFA has estimated the first-year cost to taxpayers will increase our already staggering annual pension contribution by $237 million (just for TRS, SURS and SERS) and $52.6 billion by 2049. This won’t just apply to the state pension funds, local government plans will be affected as well, meaning your property taxes will continue to increase.
- Democrats also approved legislation banning civil immigration arrests in and around state courthouses. House Bill 1312 would also allow Illinois residents to sue immigration agents who violate their constitutional right to due process and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures by removing qualified immunity to law enforcement officers acting within the scope of their authority. Since Federal agents have qualified immunity under Federal law, this ability to sue will fall primarily upon state and local law enforcement. This is really going to make it hard to recruit and retain good cops.
But Wait! There’s More! Throwing $2.5 Billion at a $200 Million Problem
On October 3rd, RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard announced that the agency’s estimated budget gap for 2026 would fall from an estimated $770 million to approximately $200 million “by stretching every dollar, managing costs, applying a reasonable 10% increase to fares, and finding tens of millions in efficiencies… (and) hav(ing) also benefited from increased operating revenue from the RTA sales tax due to a change in state law related to online sales.”
At 2:15 on Halloween morning, the House Democratic Caucus Transit Reform Omnibus bill (SB 2111, HFA #3) passed, which reportedly takes care of the $200 million shortfall with a $2.5 billion fix that makes major changes to the way mass transit is funded and governed. That’s called “overshooting the runway”.
While the bill contains a ton of provisions, I’m going to focus on the things that will be of most interest to the people of McHenry County.
- As far as governance goes, the bill creates the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) to replace the RTA. Metra, PACE and the CTA will continue to exist, but will be governed by a new board consisting of 20 members:
- 5 members appointed by the Governor
- 5 members appointed by Chicago
- 5 members appointed by Cook County
- 5 members from the five Collar Counties
And here’s the kicker: a 15-vote majority is needed for the board to pass any measure. So if the Governor’s appointees gang up with the Cook County and City of Chicago members to ram some measure down our throats, we in McHenry County will have no say in the matter.
- The RTA Sales Tax has been increased by 0.25%, from 0.75% in McHenry and the other collar counties to 1%. So instead of sending the RTA $45 million [33% o] of our hard-earned dollars per year as we do now, we’ll be sending the new NITA Board $60 million per year. And what will we get in return? That’s a topic for a future Reick Report.
- Tollway users weren’t forgotten, either. Tolls will go up by 45 cents [60%] per toll for automobiles and 30% for commercial vehicles, to be adjusted every two years by CPI (but it’ll be capped at 4%. Gee, thanks). When asked why the huge increase, the sponsor shrugged and said most of the vehicles on the tollway are just passing through and don’t live in Illinois, so let them eat cake. The Tollway Authority estimates that this will bring in an additional $1.72 billion per year. And don’t forget, there are no toll roads in Chicago, and when you consider the fact that the CTA is really the biggest beneficiary of this bailout, you should be even more chapped off.
- Remember that lockbox we all voted for that was supposed to collect the new gas tax money and all the other taxes we pay on motor fuels and hold it for the purpose of fixing our roads and bridges? Never mind. That was until somebody needed it for something else. Between fund sweeps and interest income diversions, the new NITA region will see a diversion of 85% of the sales tax on motor fuels to it from the Road Fund at the expense of downstate, an estimated loss of road funds to non-NITA counties of an estimated $473 million per year.
- Even though the CTA hasn’t raised fares since 2017, there will be a 1-year moratorium on fare increases to “allow for all the changes to kick in”. So every time you go to the grocery store or fill up your car for the next year, you’ll be subsidizing rides for somebody else on a system that you probably never use.
- Rockford is still on track to get Metra rail service, but Boone and Winnebago Counties will not be included in the new NITA region because all the capital improvements to extend service are paid for by the Capital Development Board and not the RTA or NITA. That means they won’t be called on to beef up suburban representation on the NITA board, and they won’t be subject to the 1% sales tax that we in the NITA region will pay.
When I pointed this out in debate and asked if McHenry County would be extended the courtesy of having a referendum to decide if it wanted to be part of this mess, the answer was “no”, but that we could go to referendum to opt out of NITA.
Since the 1974 referendum to join the RTA failed in McHenry County (9% in favor, 91% against) and is no more popular now than it was then, I’m holding out hope that someone may pick up the gauntlet and run with it.
If you’ve read this far, I want to thank you. It’s not easy to put together a newsletter that will fill you in and still keep your attention. My plan is to take each of the points I’ve made above and go into greater depth in future issues. I’d like to know what you think, so if you’re so inclined, please send me an email.
