CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Legislators and activists say the state should look to the rich who got richer during the pandemic instead of talking about big budget cuts and such.
Tina Hammond, a home health care provider from West Englewood, joined several lawmakers to say people like her can’t afford higher taxes or the kinds of budget cuts being talked about in Springfield. COVID-19 costs have put many of them out of business.
"I was fortunate enough to receive a grant during this period. This helped me pay my bills, but we are barely hanging on and this is the case for so many," she said.
Chicago Representative Will Guzzardi, a leader of the Progressive Caucus, said there’s another way.
"Before we create a budget that cuts services for people who need it, before we create a budget that raises taxes on people who can't afford it, we need to go after those loopholes and those giveaways to those huge corporations who have made immense profit during this pandemic," he said.
Amazon is an example. Guzzardi said the state should eliminate some of the tax incentives and breaks given to those companies and use that to close the gap.
Humbolt Park State Representative Delia Ramirez said she gets emotional thinking about how people are struggling to get through this pandemic with bills piling up. Talking about budget cuts and tax increases, she said, is just wrong.
"We certainly don't have enough funds, yet alone any possibility to cut any additional resources," Ramirez said.
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Representative Daniel Didech of Buffalo Grove agrees the solution is to end tax breaks for companies that have made big profits because of COVID-19.
"So we aren't giving preferential treatment to wealthy corporations that don't need our assistance to be successful, and have become even wealthier during this pandemic," Didech said.
Do the lawmakers fear companies might leave Illinois without the tax breaks? No, said Rep. Will Guzzardi. Illinois has much to attract and keep businesses.
They’re working on getting the votes.