BATAVIA – The two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the Illinois House seat in the 65th District offered different solutions to providing property tax relief during an election forum on Thursday.
Political activist Martha Paschke of Geneva and Kane County Board member Mohammad “Mo” Iqbal of Elgin often provided similar answers to the questions posed by the crowd that filled the Council Chambers of Batavia City Hall.
But on fiscal policy, particularly on how to reduce the crushing property tax burden on homeowners, Iqbal and Paschke disagreed.
Iqbol is proposing a five-year freeze on property taxes.
“Let local governments sharpen their pencils and live within their means,” Iqbol said.
Paschke noted that the largest portion on a homeowner’s property tax bill comes from the local school district.
“That’s because the state is not funding education as it should,” Paschke said. “If the state could start funding education as it should, we could reduce property taxes.”
Paschke is a strong proponent of the Fair Tax Amendment that would change the state’s flat income tax rate to a progressive one, with an increase for those making more than $250,000.
The amendment to the state Constitution will be placed before Illinois voters in the Nov. 3 election.
“Illinois needs the revenue and this is a great way to do that, while combating income inequality and getting the wealthy to pay their fair share,” Paschke said in response to a question on the Fair Tax.
Iqbol indicated he supports the Fair Tax Amendment as a practical matter.
“Since the state needs money let’s go with the progressive tax, but the flat tax is a better one,” Iqbol said.
The forum was run by the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County and co-sponsored by the Batavia Chamber of Commerce along with the Aurora and Naperville chapters of the LWV.
Audience members submitted written questions that were posed to the candidates by a League moderator.
Asked about consolidating units of local government in order to reduce costs, Iqbol said he would seek to do so, noting his own efforts to reduce the size of the county board.
Paschke said consolidation of local government could be risky, because of the jobs that would be lost.
Another question asked the candidates whether they would make budget cuts or increase taxes in order to fund new projects or initiatives.
Iqbol declared he would cut spending, which he described as “out of control,” and that he would do a cost-benefit analysis of any proposal.
State finances are a “complex balance,” Paschke said.
“We have a budget issue in our state. It’s a balance and a matter of responsibility,” she said.
Both candidates said they support reproductive rights, approve of last year’s state gasoline tax increase to fund road projects and pledged to hold frequent and open town hall meetings if elected.
And for the record, in response to a question which ideally would not need to be asked in a democracy, both Iqbol and Paschke said they oppose the banning of books.
Iqbol and Paschke will face off in the March 17 primary election. The winner will challenge first-term incumbent Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, in the Nov. 3 general election.
The 65th District takes in a small portion of Batavia’s northwest side, extending north all the way into Huntley in McHenry County.
In between, the district covers large parts of the west sides of Geneva, St. Charles, South Elgin and Elgin, as well as rural areas and villages to the northwest.
Much of the district’s northern geography is part of the Kane County Board’s District 19, represented by Iqbal, who also serves as chairman of the Kane County Complete Count Commission for the 2020 Census.
Iqbol is an attorney who has served on the Gail Borden Library Foundation and the Elgin Human Relations Commission.
Paschke is an intake coordinator with a St. Charles mental health clinic and previously taught social studies in the Yorkville, Geneva and St. Charles school districts.
She was instrumental in the formation of the Fox Valley Activists group, which led directly to Paschke’s role as a founding member and co-leader of the Kane-Kendall chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
19-Legal,24-ILGA,26-Delivered,AllPol
Feeds,News
via Kane County Chronicle https://ift.tt/2r32Acp
January 31, 2020 at 03:42PM
Illinois Delivered 