The governor's address Wednesday will be in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but lawmakers are still encouraged to watch on video elsewhere to limit contact on the House floor during the latest coronavirus surge.
— Freeze the motor fuel tax on gasoline for a year at 39.2 cents per gallon. To fund Pritzker's $45 billion statewide construction plan in 2019, the tax was doubled to 38 cents and indexed to inflation annually. Without a freeze, it would increase 6.9% to 41.4 cents July 1, Manar said. — Provide a property tax rebate up to $300. Every property owner can get an income tax credit of up to 5% of property taxes paid. For single filers earning less than $250,000, the state would double that 5% credit in the form of a rebate. This would cost the state an estimated $475 million.
Republicans, who have said Pritzker spends too much and lacks financial discipline, will have a hard time knocking the idea of putting money back into consumers’ pockets. But there is room for criticism. Last spring, Pritzker said a main budget goal was reducing the so-called structural deficit — a fundamental imbalance in the state's revenues versus expenditures, as opposed to a deficit caused by an unexpected downturn or other temporary factors.
His companies benefit the most?