Chuck Hvala

“I grew up on the far south side of Chicago. I went to school at Western Illinois University and DePaul, then worked as a certified public accountant, primarily in corporate entities. I also spent time as a sole practitioner and used to prepare tax returns for friends and relatives, many of whom were retired – so, I got to see their financial situations.”

“I’m planning on voting ‘no’ on the progressive tax. The state legislators and the various governors that we’ve had – both Democrat and Republican – have not been able to resolve the pension problem. That’s what seems to be driving much of Illinois’ spending. The pension problem is the huge elephant in the room that nobody wants to touch.”

“They’re saying that the progressive tax is not going to affect the retirees. I can’t trust the politicians like that. The old adage is, ‘if their lips are moving, they’re lying.’ You look at all the promises and comments they’ve made in the past about taxes… It just makes me distrustful.”

“I honestly believe they’re just going to put on more pressure to raise taxes higher and higher. Right now, we have a situation where the state government, and many of the municipal governments throughout the state, are under significant financial pressure because of COVID-19.”

“Small businesses are hurt. A lot of people can’t find jobs. Raising [taxes] is unwise with what’s happened with the economy.”

“Quite frankly, I can’t wait until my wife retires and we can move out of here.”

“I grew up in Illinois. I spent a lot of my life in Illinois. I like the state and there’s a lot of things going for it.”

“But I’m sorry, I don’t really want to spend my retirement here.”

Chuck Hvala
Retired accountant
Gurnee, Illinois