Jones Pushes for Economic Reforms to Boost Working Class Families

CALUMET CITY, Ill. – Offering a series of sweeping economic proposals to rebuild Illinois’ working class, state Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, announced his plan to increase wages, invest in education and crack down on wealthy corporations not paying their fair share.

“I have been fighting against Governor Rauner’s irresponsible agenda to slash protections for injured workers just to benefit wealthy corporations and their bottom lines,” Jones said. “I also want to fight for positive reforms that invest in our children’s education, let working families keep more of their hard-earned dollars and require all corporations pay something, so we can create opportunity here in our communities and fund essential services for our most needy residents.”

Rather than accepting Rauner’s belief that Illinois must slash the rights of Illinois’ workers and to gut social service programs to help businesses, Jones’ is fighting for reforms that will strengthen Illinois by creating jobs, investing in education and preserving social services for the most vulnerable. Jones’ plan includes:

• Allowing working families to keep more of their hard-earned money by increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit.
• Raising the minimum wage.
• Requiring millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share to fund elementary and secondary education by creating a small surcharge on annual income greater than $1 million.
• Reforming the corporate tax code to help small employers by reducing the corporate tax rate by 50 percent, and cracking down on large corporations that currently pay nothing in taxes.
• Reinstating the EDGE tax credit for businesses that create jobs.
• Passing reforms to the workers’ compensation system that require insurance companies to pass savings onto employers.
• Outlawing any future tax incentives for businesses that ship American jobs overseas.

“Struggling workers in Illinois have been forgotten by this governor, but I will continue being a voice in Springfield for building up the working class, not tearing it down,” Jones said. “I am calling on Governor Rauner to drop his anti-working-class agenda and join me and my colleagues in building an Illinois that benefits everyone.”