The Illinois General Assembly has tried for years to pass a crony-ladended bailout bill misnamed the “Clean Energy Jobs Act” and it may finally happen in the lame-duck session. This legislation is full of regressive mandates, tax increases that will disproportiantely effect low-income households, regulations, and corporate favoritism that will significantly increase energy costs for families for basic necessities like heating homes, cooking food and keeping the lights on.
What’s worse, the revenue from this tax would help pay for new subsidies to well-connected industries. The same industries and companies that are still embroiled in a corruption scandal that resulted in a record-breaking fine of $200 million for ComEd and many criminal charges brought against the political insiders that benfited from this scheme.
Enough is enough. Now more than ever, lawmakers should be working to let us keep more of our hard earned money. Regressive taxes that will line the pockets of the well-connected don’t seem like responsible public policy.
Legislators in Springfield would be wise to remember this: Enacting new barriers to economic opportunity in the form of higher energy prices is never a good idea. Doing so in a time of significant economic dislocation due to the pandemic is plainly irresponsible.
Tell your legislator to reject regressive tax increases and corporate welfare in the “Clean Energy Jobs Act”!