State Sen. Daniel Biss wants to beat Bruce Rauner in next year’s gubernatorial election.
However, the Evanston Democrat doesn’t blame all of the state’s problems on the Republican incumbent. At a Champaign event, he said the Democrats who came before Rauner didn't fix what he considers an unfair tax system.
“The Democrats had been in power in Springfield for 12 years, and yet, we still had the fourth-most-unfair tax system in the country," Biss said, "where we taxed the middle class and the working poor more, and the richest Illinois residents, who have been the beneficiaries of two generations of all the economic growth aren’t being asked to pay their fair share.”
Biss supports replacing the current flat tax system with a graduated income tax. He also wants to peg property taxes rates to income.
In addition to taking potshots at the flat-tax system, Biss also criticized House Speaker Michael Madigan's "concentration of power" after 32 years in office. He says a constitutional amendment he filed would change that.
“You can’t serve as speaker or senate president or minority leader for more than 10 years," Biss said. " I just believed it from day one that that concentration of power is unhealthy. And I’m prepared to say that now, even in a Democratic primary, because it’s true. And I believe in being honest, even about our own warts as a party.”
Biss made these comments to the Champaign County Young Democrats and the Champaign chapter of the Illini Democrats.