Grundy Reporter

Gov. J.B. Pritzker provided plans to withhold federal COVID-19 tax relief to fill holes in Illinois' budget deficit, a WCIA report said. 

Federal tax relief provided by Congress was intended to relieve the burden on small businesses amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which has crippled revenues for a plethora of businesses across the state. 

“This is tax relief for the hardest hit small businesses in the nation that was enacted in Washington on a bipartisan basis,” Tom Maisch, head of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce said, WCIA reported. “So that’s actual money in small businesses’ pockets that allows them to go ahead and compensate for the fact that they don’t have customers right now.”

In response to criticism of the move Pritzker responded in a statement arguing the state "cannot afford tax breaks to businesses that already receive tax breaks," WCIA reported