Following is the statement of SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Greg Kelley following today’s passage of the Republican tax bill.
“While the Republican tax overhaul is a terrible deal for Illinois and will enhance income and wealth inequality, it is merely another shameful prong in a full-on attack on working families in Springfield and in Washington.
“Rep. Peter Roskam deserves special mention for his role in authoring and promoting the bill. He slandered anyone who pointed out the truth of this tax scam as caught in a “cul-de-sac of envy.” This is despite the indisputable fact that benefits of the bill go heavily toward foreign investors, greedy corporations and people like Bruce Rauner, who already are prospering in a rigged economy.
“While other Republican governors spoke out against the fundamental unfairness of the bill, Gov. Rauner, meanwhile, retained his characteristic silence. The man with multiple mansions who already has proposed massive cuts to social services will now have $1.6 TRILLION added to the federal deficit. This will provide him with even more grist to justify cutting services that help seniors, children, people with disabilities and the economic security of working families.
“The good news is that, in increasing numbers, Illinoisans are seeing through the smokescreens of people like Rep. Roskam and Gov. Rauner, who continue their full-on attack on working families. And, come next year, we will have a remedy: To vote them out of office.”