Peoria Standard

While discussing a bill to provide tax breaks on groceries and gasoline on April 9, Sen. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) spoke out on the Senate floor about the state's debt and how inflation will affect interest rates.

"Already billions of dollars in debt, already having higher taxes on our employers, already having employees in that situation having reduced benefits when we enter a recession and have the related spike in unemployment," Stoller said. "Other states that took action are not going to be in that position. They're going to be in a position to take care that their employees who need unemployment benefits in their time of need, but we are shortchanging ours. Kicking the can down the road doesn't solve our problems. Delaying action doesn't solve our problems. In fact, it's these delays that got us in the mess that we are in in the first place and I do not think we should be heading down that path."

Senate Bill 157 passed both the Senate  with one 'no' vote, and the House unanimously. It passed the both chambers on April 9.

The bill creates several tax incentives for taxpayers in the state and gives them a little relief amid the high inflation the country is currently experiencing. However, those incentives were only temporary. The gas tax resumes in January, and the grocery tax break resumes next June.

The bill offers $1.83 billion in tax relief to families in the form of breaks and tax credits to businesses.

Senate Bill 157 also created the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Act, which was a big selling point for Republican legislators. MICRO will create tax incentives for manufacturers of semiconductors, microchips, or semiconductor or microchip component parts.