Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has proposed a graduated income tax, meaning that income tax rates would be higher for those with higher incomes. This issue is an important one in the Nov. 3 Illinois House of Representatives elections, and Wehrli and Yang-Rohr take different stances on it. They discussed the issue in a virtual candidate forum on Wednesday Sep. 23.

Incumbent Republican Grant Wehrli is opposed to the graduated income tax, arguing that Springfield’s priority should be to look at how it is spending its money rather than asking for more from taxpayers. He claimed that increasing taxes on the wealthiest Illinoisans would not fix the budgeting issues in Illinois, and that it could drive away business.

Democratic candidate Janet Yang-Rohr is in favor of the graduated income tax, which she argues would relieve the financial burden from Illinois’ middle class and provide more funding for the Illinois government. She emphasized her commitment to not raising taxes on middle-class families or retirement income, and claimed that this tax proposal would help alleviate the growing wealth gap in Illinois.