Northwest Side GOP Vice President and 41st Ward Committeeman candidate Ammie Kessem is convinced that the tax and fee increases to take effect this week in Cook County will lead more Illinois residents to accepting an even harder reality.
“I think most taxpayers are beginning to wake up and realize that the political classes in Chicago and Cook County aren’t interested in cutting waste,” Kessem told Chicago City Wire. “The tax and fee increases are perfect examples of how the socialists now leading the Democratic Party are using our taxes as a means to accomplishing their goal of redistribution of wealth.”
Kessem is doing everything she can to fight the fight.
Northwest Side GOP Club Vice President and 41st Ward Committeeman candidate Ammie Kessem (R-Chicago)
“This vicious cycle of ‘keeping the man down’ has got to end, and my goal in winning the 41st Ward will be to focus on supporting candidates who want to help build up,” she said. “One way I wish to accomplish this is to hold regular job fairs and invite the trade unions in to participate in that goal.”
Kessem argues that the $18 million in new taxes Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot plans to use to plug the city’s $838 million budget shortfall is just more wayward spending. Property taxes are slated to increase in the neighborhood of $50 million when one factors in the $32 million previously approved for debt service by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The Chicago Tribune reports there’s also at least another $15 million due in taxes from the value of new property in the city and a tax increase of $5 million in the Chicago Park District budget. Also set to kick in on Jan. 1 are higher taxes on food and drinks purchased in Chicago restaurants and a massive so-called “congestion-fee” that will be attached to essentially every Uber and Lyft single-passenger ride in the downtown area.
“This is a way for them to control the masses by making the voters dependent upon them to sustain themselves without having to do anything,” Kessem said. “They are essentially buying Democrats' votes. It’s astonishing the number of individuals in Chicago and Cook county that are receiving some sort of a government check, meaning taking away from hardworking Americans and giving it to those who prefer to sponge off the government.”
Kessem sees just one solution to ending the madness.
“We must support candidates who believe in low taxes and less government involvement in our daily lives,” she said. “We must also hold people accountable for their own personal responsibility. These are Republican values, pure and simple.”
Alerts Sign-up