Progress Illinois

Yesterday, Greg Hinz of Crain's reported that, accordiing to first quarter campaign finance disclosures, many Republican campaigns in Illinois are paying their workers as contractors rather than full-time employees.  Why does this matter?  Hinz explains:

[W]hen someone is an employee, they and their employer split the Social Security tax. But when someone is an independent contractor, the employer pays nothing and the worker pays 150% of what they'd normally owe.

As an example, Hinz noted that Democratic 10th Congressional District candidate Dan Seals had "reported paying more than $30,000 in payroll taxes through January" while his GOP rival Robert Dold "paid nothing."  Within hours, Seals had a release out slamming his Dold on the issue: “My opponent owes voters an explanation as to why he has failed to pay thousands in taxes for his campaign employees, leaving hard-working Illinois taxpayers holding the bag.”

The payroll issue may also surface in the hotly-contested 11th and 14th congressional districts, where the Republican challengers have similarly avoided paying payroll taxes up to this point. (UPDATE 1:30 p.m.: Gov. Quinn has also called out GOP gubernatorial challenger Bill Brady on this issue.)

Seeing how he's the frontruner in the 11th Congressional District GOP primary, political newcomer Adam Kinzinger is likely to be celebrating a victory tonight.  And Dems in the district are wasting no time attacking the National Republican Congressional Committee-endorsed candidate for his position on Social Security. In an interview with the Kankakee Daily Journal last week (subscription required), Kinzinger proposed capping Social Security benefits at the rate of inflation and raising the program's retirement age. Activists will greet him at his victory party in New Lenox (12410 Horseshoe Drive) to express their displeasure with that position. Here's a flyer with some details.