Metro East Sun

It’s a New Year's Eve countdown that Illinois state Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) could do without.

On Jan. 1, more than 250 new laws are set to kick in across the state, leaving the freshman lawmaker as ambivalent as he’s been since arriving in Springfield.

“How about we get rid of some laws instead of constantly layering more and more laws onto the citizens of our great state?” Plummer recently asked voters in a post to Facebook. “What laws should we get rid of? I want to hear from you.”

Laws ranging from the legalization of recreational marijuana to the tripling of the tax on Uber and Lyft rides in downtown Chicago are set to take effect with the start of the New Year. Critics such as Plummer are wondering what all the raised taxes could mean for a state already saddled with the reputation of being the least tax-friendly in the U.S.

The rankings by business and economic forecasting publisher Kiplinger found that Illinois’ policy of forcing residents to pay much more than taxpayers are obligated to pay in other states, coupled with steadily rising property taxes that are now the second highest in the nation, have further damaged the state’s already tattered image.

“There’s numerous nonpartisan groups out there now ranking Illinois the worst state in the country when it comes to taxation, and that puts a very heavy burden on families and businesses throughout Illinois," Plummer previously told the Metro East Sun. "That’s why our state population continues to shrink and we continue to see businesses and quality jobs flee to other states and why we're facing the fiscal crisis we're facing. Until we make our state more competitive, we’re going to continue to struggle.”