Macon Reporter

Republican state Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) doesn’t mince words when it comes to sizing up what he thinks House Bill 825 amounts to.

“It’s nothing more than a rain tax for property owners,” Skillicorn told the Macon Reporter. “The people in Springfield that are pushing this thing look at it as just another source of income. I mean, the language of the bill doesn’t limit or even earmark where the revenue from it would go. It’s just another misguided way for municipalities to generate revenue on the backs of taxpayers.”

Still, given the Democratic super-majority in Springfield promoting the legislation, Skillicorn worries that it could pass any day now, saddling already cash-strapped taxpayers with yet another sizeable burden.

With that, the veteran lawmaker said he is committed to doing all he can to stem the tide.

“I know that people across this state are already frustrated with high taxes and this could be a final drop in bucket for a lot of them,” he said. “I’m trying to warn everyone I can about this. I think the more people that know about it, the more of them that will stand up to fight.”

According to Skillicorn, the bill would amend the Illinois Municipal Code to modify the definition of "sewerage system," paving the way for storm water collection, treatment and distribution infrastructure and disposal of storm water to be included as taxable.

As it is, Skillicorn said Illinois residents are already taxed for storm water collected by sewerage systems, adding that the unlimited nature of HB 825 makes it even harder to swallow.

“People in Illinois are already taxed out,” he said. “The way I see it, nothing about this bill would be good for the state.”

According to WalletHub, at nearly 15 percent, Illinois residents already pay the highest combined tax rates in the country.