State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, issued the following statement today in response to Governor JB Pritzker’s State of the State address delivered to a joint session of the General Assembly:
“While I appreciate that Governor Pritzker signaled his support for some ethics reform proposals, I believe there is more that needs to be done to root out corruption in state government once and for all. What has been happening in Springfield is outrageous and is not tolerated by the taxpayers. We learn of new developments on a weekly basis about the ongoing federal investigations into corruption and self-dealing in state government. We have seen elected officials arrested, indicted and resign due to alleged involvement in criminal activities. We need stricter ethics reforms to keep our state’s elected officials in check and we need redistricting reform to clean up our election process.
One thing the Governor said I agreed with was his emphasis on reducing our state’s sky-high property taxes and creating jobs. With Illinois’ terrible out-migration statistics growing year after year, we need to do everything we can to lower our property tax burden, hold the line on any further tax increases, and create more jobs immediately, so our communities can thrive. I will continue to work with any lawmaker – Republican or Democrat – who will work to root out corruption, lower property taxes, and create jobs for Stateline area families.”