SPRINGFIELD – Gov JB Pritzker has been pushing to eliminate Illinois' flat rate income tax – an effort that will demand changing the state's constitution. Reports are that the measure Pritzker calls "Fair Tax" has the needed 71 votes lined up to pass the House. The measure passed the Illinois Senate earlier this session.
With 74 Democrats and 44 Republicans in the Illinois House – and more importantly, Speaker Mike Madigan's approval – Pritzker is so confident the measure will be on Illinois' 2020 General Election ballot his "Think Big Illinois" PAC has already been running television ads, like this one:
Always pushing for higher taxes, Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability is also promoting Pritzker's plan, saying, "Given the demonstrable growth in income inequality over the last 30 years, the governor wants to raise all new revenue from those at the top of the income ladder who can afford it."
Groups like Americans for Prosperity and Illinois Policy Institute have been trying to stop the effort, but with the overwhelming number of Democrats in both chambers, the chances of stopping the effort from appearing on the ballot is dimming more each day.
