Chicago City Wire

Amanda Biela is running against Rep. John D’Amico (D-Chicago) in Illinois House District 15, and one of the things that she has heard from constituents is that property taxes are a problem.

Biela spoke to the Chicago City Wire about a new study from Truth in Accounting that showed Illinois residents are among the hardest hit in the country when it comes to taxation. The state ranks second after New Jersey as a state with an onerous per capita tax burden for residents, according to the study.

“From my experience knocking on doors and talking with citizens in my district, the enormous Illinois taxpayer burden hits people of all political stripes equally hard,” Biela said. “It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat when it comes to having the highest property taxes in the nation. All our citizens are suffering, no matter what party they identify with.”

Amanda Biela

Biela reiterated that one of her platform ideas is to put a 1 percent hard cap on property taxes. Property tax rates, she said, are an issue that can bring people to a consensus.

Biela also spoke about establishment politics and the dangers of single-party rule.

“The danger of one-party rule in a state is that they don't have to ultimately listen to divergent views or even represent people they are elected to serve,” Biela said. “Mike Madigan has been in office longer than I have been alive.”

She also spoke about her opponent D'Amico and his legacy.

“His family has controlled our area for decades,” Biela said. “When you have representatives in office for life, they don't have to care about the real concerns of the people.”

Biela was pointed in assigning blame to these legacy politicians for tax problems and other issues that require responsiveness from government officials.

“Mike Madigan and John D'Amico aren't going to do anything about the taxes that are crushing Illinoisans--they're the ones that are responsible for it,” Biela said.

Illinois House District 15 includes Cook County.