Conservative activist David Krupa is feeling a renewed spirit in the face of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s biggest setback.
“It gives some hope to a dark state of affairs,” Krupa told Chicago City Wire of the governor’s signature progressive tax proposal being roundly rejected by voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. “I think it’s good for Illinois and I’m glad the majority of people in this state were properly informed and able to make an educated decision.”
Despite the measure the governor has been pushing since his days as a candidate as a plan that would only mean higher taxes for the state’s richest residents, Krupa insists he’s not surprised the plan fell far short of registering the 60% approval from voters needed for passage.
“There’s no way it could do what it was being advertised to do,” he said.
Krupa adds he’s also not shocked to see the governor now lashing out as he has, threatening everything from across the board tax hikes to “painful” budget cuts, after pumping more than $50 million of his own money into a campaign aimed at swaying voters.
“The governor’s tantrum is to be expected,” he said, adding that the idea of the cuts actually strikes him as what needs to happen.
“We’re way overdue for that,” he said. “I think the first cuts should be made to cut all the state workers we have. The reason we call Chicago the city that works is because everyone has a government job, many of them just because of who they know. We need to do a hiring freeze and cut the fat in Illinois. It starts with a statewide hiring freeze and cutting all the reckless spending. From there, we need to get rid of the corruption cost. I just hope he doesn’t cut things just to hurt people and to prove a political point.”
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