Ted’s Platform

Illinoisans’ tax burdens have increased every year under Gov. Pritzker and the laws he’s signed. Our property tax rates are now the nation’s highest. The gas taxes we pay are the 2nd-highest. And Chicagoans now pay the nation’s highest sales tax rates as a result of the new transit spending bill.

Electricity bills are also skyrocketing because of the zero-emission policies the governor has championed.

All those costs, made worse by a host of rising fees and fines, are squeezing people out of their homes and out of this state – with more than 400,000 residents fleeing since 2020 alone. That’s true from Rockford all the way down to Southern Illinois. In Chicago’s West Side, they’re even holding bonfires to burn their property tax bills.

It’s time to put taxpayers first. As governor, I will:

• Audit all spending and expose the waste, fraud and abuse in state and local budgets. Illinoisans deserve to know exactly where their tax dollars are going.
• Champion a cut and cap in property tax rates. I’ll pursue the phase-in of a 1% property tax cap on a home’s assessed value – just like they have in Indiana. To make that work, we’ll push for cuts in Illinois’ massive bureaucratic waste and bloat – e.g. too many units of local government.
• Veto any and all tax increases the legislature puts on my desk and use line-item vetoes to responsibly reduce state spending.
• Fight to repeal Illinois’ “zero emissions” energy policy that’s harming residents and businesses alike. We must return to a sensible balance of fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable sources that will bring energy costs down.
• Fight to repeal Illinois’ sanctuary laws and all illegal migrant welcoming programs. Put Illinoisans first.

Illinois has suffered the nation’s 4th-worst private-sector job growth, the 6th-worst GDP growth and the 7th-worst wage growth since Gov. Pritzker took office. Illinois job growth has been practically zero since 2019, while Texas has created 1.5 million new private sector jobs and Florida, 1.1 million.

Unsurprisingly, corporate headquarters have been fleeing. Caterpillar, Boeing, Tyson Foods, Citadel, Morton Salt – all have moved to states where populations and economies are growing.

And many outside companies won’t invest in Illinois due to the state’s fiscal mess. Warren Buffett said he won’t put a plant in high-pension-debt states like Illinois because of the future tax hikes needed to pay for those pensions. The few companies that do come are lured by massive taxpayer subsidies, such as Chinese EV battery manufacturer Gotion, which was gifted $500 million in tax credits by Gov. Pritzker.

It’s time to make Illinois a jobs magnet again. As governor, I will:

• Cut taxes and lower costs. Illinois businesses need relief from the nation’s 3rd-highest corporate income tax and 7th-highest commercial property taxes. A property tax cap, an income tax cut, and reforms to major expenses like workers compensation can provide that relief.
• Work to slash the state’s red tape. Illinois’ web of 280,000 regulations and rules – the nation’s 4th-most – is too burdensome on small businesses and entrepreneurs. I will work with lawmakers to devise sensible regulatory reforms and will instruct executive agencies to remove three old rules for every new one enacted.
• Push to repeal Illinois’ “zero emissions” energy policy. Climbing energy costs are crushing many small businesses’ bottom lines, preventing investment and hiring. I will demand a return to a sensible balance of fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable sources that will bring energy costs down.
• Stop the creation of new pension debts. I will call for 401K-style retirement plans for all new government workers. That will halt the creation of new pension debt and help kickstart business confidence in Illinois.

Only 15% of black and 20% of Hispanic students statewide read and do math at grade level. And overall, just a third of Illinois children perform at grade level. Our educational system hides its failures behind meaningless “accountability” metrics while continuing to politicize our classrooms.

It’s a broken system, spending more than $24,000 per student – the most in the Midwest – for dismal results. In Chicago, spending is now $34,000 per student. And there’s no escape for struggling families. Gov. Pritzker and the Democrats killed the state’s only school choice program in 2023.

It’s time to focus on student literacy and numeracy again. As governor, I will:

• End social promotion. I’ll fight for legislation that will require all Illinois 3rd-graders to be proficient in reading before they’re allowed to enter the 4th grade. Eighteen other states understand that reading in 3rd-grade is essential for student success – Illinois should, too.
• Make school choice a top priority. We need universal school choice – where all children regardless of race or income have access to a voucher or education savings account – like our neighbors Indiana and Iowa have. The public wants it and there is substantial, bipartisan support in the General Assembly for creating a new comprehensive choice program.
• Make learning standards the highest in the nation. Gov. Pritzker’s lowering of education standards must be reversed. Education officials must be held accountable for the dire lack of student achievement in reading and math across the state. It was a policy decision to lower standards, not a law that passed. The move to lower standards is not transparent and hides whether or not school districts are improving outcomes.
• Return literacy to Illinois classrooms. We will audit for compliance the recently passed law that mandates phonics instruction in our schools and assess the outcomes to ensure our literacy program is working.
• Remove political indoctrination from Illinois classrooms. That includes eliminating all DEI curricula from schools and canceling “Culturally Responsive Teaching Standards” that mandate politicized training for teachers. The principles of merit and excellence will be returned to our classrooms.
• Veto any attempt to impose regulations on homeschooling. Parents’ rights in education must be protected.

Inflexible, one-size-fits-all state mandates from Springfield have robbed Illinois communities of their decision-making powers and stripped taxpayers, parents and homeowners of their voice.

Cities are forced by the state to bargain with government unions and pay unaffordable pension costs. Counties can’t object to disruptive green energy projects. School districts have dozens of expensive unfunded mandates forced upon them. Local law enforcement officials are required to abide by soft-on-crime laws like the SAFE-T Act. And anti-notification laws have stripped parents of their rights over their children’s well-being in education and healthcare.

Government power belongs at the lowest level possible. Local officials should have greater control over their budgets so they can lower cost drivers. And local residents, not the state, should have the greatest say over how their communities are run.

It’s time to return control to families and communities. As governor, I will:

• Demand a comprehensive repeal of unfunded state mandates. I will form a coalition with municipalities and other local governments to pressure lawmakers to repeal the countless unfunded state mandates that contribute enormously to local government costs and your property tax bills.
• Call for municipal bankruptcy. I will work with lawmakers to develop a municipal bankruptcy provision similar to that of 24 other states. Residents of struggling cities – from Harvey to Peoria to Chicago – need the ability to re-negotiate their debt obligations.
• Restore parental rights. Anti-notification laws that strip parents of their rights must be repealed.
• Work to consolidate Illinois’ duplicative and overlapping local governments. Local government is good, but Illinois has nearly 7,000 local taxing bodies, the most in the nation by far. Illinoisans in many communities end up taxed by over a dozen separate governments – which makes it nearly impossible for residents to hold their local officials accountable.

Criminal justice in Illinois runs entirely backward. Under the Democratic Party’s failed policies, criminals are prioritized over victims. Gov. Pritzker’s SAFE-T Act allows repeat felons to roam the streets freely while awaiting trial. Pritzker’s further embrace of sanctuary laws, his welcoming programs and the billions he’s spent on illegal immigrants – including $2 billion spent on healthcare alone – have also created chaos.

Gov. Pritzker should be cooperating with federal officials to reduce crime in Illinois. Unfortunately, Pritzker has blocked those efforts and engaged in unacceptable, incendiary rhetoric that foments violence against federal law enforcement officers.

The consequence is more violence, especially for Chicagoans. The Windy City was once again the nation’s homicide capital in 2024 with 573 murders – the 13th year in a row that Chicago has suffered more murders than anywhere else in the country. And with another 400-plus homicides in 2025, Chicago’s streak has now hit 14 straight years.

It’s time to prioritize victims instead of criminals. As governor, I will:

• Fight to repeal the state’s sanctuary policies and the SAFE-T Act. Both laws have led to terrible cases of preventable violence – situations where violent offenders should have been in jail, but were released instead.
• Make the improvement of police morale a top priority. Illinois officers need the power to actively police and know that state officials have their back. I will work to restore foot and car chases and other tools that allow officers to properly perform their duties.
• Work cooperatively with federal law enforcement to remove criminal illegal immigrants from our streets and our jails. I will sign executive orders withholding state funding from local governments who refuse to work with federal law enforcement.
• Call for the sanction of prosecutors and judges who fail to hold those who are arrested for violent crimes or are habitual criminals. I will make all related criminal justice data available to the public.