State Representative Brad Halbrook Warns Taxpayers: “Buckle Up, More Democrat Taxes Incoming”

SPRINGFIELD, IL - State Representative Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) used his first floor speech of the 2026 legislative session to sound the alarm on yet another attempt by Democrat leaders to push a new income tax on Illinois families.

Rep. Halbrook warned: "If this is how we're going to start the 2026 spring session, Illinois taxpayers should buckle up, because they're about to pay for another round of bad decisions."

Rep. Halbrook went on to further express his displeasure with the way the General Assembly operates: "We know this playbook: borrow money, raise taxes, promise reform, raise taxes again, then come back for more. But what has all of this gotten us? Record outmigration. Empty storefronts. A shrinking middle class."

Halbrook concludes with his concerns that lawmakers might begin to tax retirement income in order to pay for their spending habit: "So here's the real question - why should anyone believe this time is going to be different? Every time bad policy fails, a majority party reaches for the same solution: the taxpayers' wallet. What's next - the wallets of our retirees? Enough is enough."

Halbrook urged lawmakers to respect the will of the voters, who already rejected a progressive income tax, and to focus on solutions that actually make Illinois more affordable and competitive.

For more information, please contact Rep Halbrook's office at 217-342-0220 or visit his website RepHalbrook.com.

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State Representative Brad Halbrook, is currently in his 7th term as State Representative in the Illinois General Assembly. Rep. Halbrook's 107th district includes several communities in the following Central Illinois counties: Macon, Shelby, Christian, Effingham, Montgomery, Cumberland, and Moultrie. Rep. Halbrook dedicates his term in office to pursuing conservative public policy, holding government accountable, and fighting high state and local taxes.