Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push for his “fair tax” is headed for rejection by Illinois voters. State lawmakers now must face the public pension debt driving the state’s fiscal crisis.
Every state without an income tax has lower property taxes than Illinois. The progressive tax amendment includes no property tax reforms, so there’s no guarantee property taxes won’t rise as income taxes rise.
‘Fair tax’ backers funded by Gov. J.B. Pritzker created the illusion of bipartisanship by using a former public employee union staffer who collects a generous taxpayer-funded pension due to a loophole in state law.
Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...