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The pros and cons of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature issue — a proposed graduated income tax — were discussed and dissected at length during a panel discussion in Oak Park, Illinois.
During his first year in office, Gov. JB Pritzker was able to attain numerous legislative wins, which included everything from legalizing sports betting and the recreational use of cannabis, to passing a General Fund budget through the Legislature with bi-partisan support.
If the American Dream means anything, it’s this: The circumstances of a person’s birth ought not limit what he or she can become in life. Everyone should have the same opportunities to achieve, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender or income class. Differentials in life outcomes should be predicated solely on individual choices, drive and luck.
J.B. Pritzker's first year as governor stands in stark contrast to that of his immediate predecessor Bruce Rauner. While the Rauner Administration struggled to find common ground with the General Assembly on a host of issues, Gov. Pritzker worked both sides of the aisle to gain consensus on numerous pieces of significant and in some cases groundbreaking, legislation -- especially on fiscal and tax policy.
This included everything from creating new revenue by authorizing a Chicago casino and legalizing cannabis, to establishing a $45 billion capital program and passing pro-business reforms championed by Republican House Minority Leader Jim Durkin. Pritzker also got a General Fund budget passed on his first try, with bipartisan support to boot. Whether or not you'd favor any one or more of these initiatives, you have to acknowledge it's somewhat remarkable for a rookie governor to have so many legislative successes right out of the box.
Polish News Media, INFOLINA, quotes CTBA.
It may feel like Illinois, and Chicago in particular, already take a cut of everything and anything that can be taxed – come January, Illinois will even begin to tax rented parking. But in reality, Illinois skips some significant potential sources of tax revenue: There’s no tax on retirement income, for one, and the state taxes only a handful of services (most are utility-related).
Revenue from a statewide broadened sales tax could bring extra money to both the state and to communities around Illinois that are likewise facing monumental pension pressures, particularly as pro-labor Pritzker is steadfast that he will not look to curb government employees’ and retirees’ benefits (the state constitution hamstrings even those who do favor that approach).
Various groups have long called for Illinois to add a sales tax to services, including the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and the Civic Federation.
“A statewide pension system would involve consolidating various municipal pension systems into one pension system. Under the mayor’s [reported] proposal, not only would the plan be to consolidate it but the state would become responsible for funding various pensions plans,” said Carol Spain, director of U.S. Public Finance at S&P Global.
“[The system] would relieve the local government from needing to levy property taxes or other local taxes to pay for their pension plan,” she said.
But not everybody’s on board. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday at an event celebrating Illinois’ new capital program that the state’s near-junk status would prohibit it from taking on Chicago’s pension woes.
“There are not liabilities that can be adopted by the state that would not drive us into junk status,” he said.
Spain and Daniel Hertz, research director at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, join us in discussion.