Illinois voters sounding off on three nonbinding questions

[November 04, 2024]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – One of the three statewide questions Illinois voters are being asked Tuesday could turn into a constitutional amendment question in 2026.

In May, state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, laid out the three nonbinding referendum questions Illinois voters are being asked to vote on. The measures were part of an elections omnibus bill legislators approved and the governor signed.

“First would be an Election Worker Protection and Candidate Accountability Referendum Act,” Hoffman said on the House floor. “The second, the Property Tax Relief and Fairness Referendum Act. The third, the Assisted Reproductive Health Referendum Act.”

Republicans voted present and walked off the House floor in protest after Democrats approved the questions. State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said there are many other important questions to ask voters that should be binding.

“Whether that is term limits, or redistricting reform, or challenging the sanctuary state policies that are hurting people throughout the state of Illinois,” Spain said, complaining there was no vetting of the questions in a public way for voters to have more input.

The nonbinding, advisory question of whether millionaires should pay an additional 3% income tax to fund property tax relief has the backing of former Gov. Pat Quinn. During a recent news conference, the Democrat estimated it could generate $4 billion. The nonbinding question could be turned into a constitutional amendment down the road, he said.

“You have to write in the constitutional amendment that people would vote on two years from now specifics that are mandates, that the amount of surcharge is only applied to people who declare more than a million dollars in annual income. The money raised from that surcharge must be spent on property tax rebates,” Quinn said.

Illinois has among the highest property tax burdens in the country. The state also has a flat income tax in the Illinois Constitution. That would need to be changed if legislators look to have a millionaires surcharge. In 2020, a constitutional amendment to change the flat tax to one with higher rates on higher earners was rejected by voters.

The Illinois Policy Institute argues a millionaire surcharge would harm Illinois taxpayers. The institute said it could be easily avoided by those with more money.

“High-income individuals often have access to sophisticated tax planning strategies, enabling them to shift income across states or exploit loopholes, significantly reducing their tax burden,” wrote Matheus Cosso. “This limits the tax’s intended effect and burdens other taxpayers more.”

The institute also says the measure fails to provide stable revenue and discourages or limits economic growth as it could impact small business owners.

“Besides those three issues, voters need to remember ‘millionaires’ are not necessarily people in mansions. They often are mom-and-pop stores: 23,740 small businesses could be hit with a 61% hike in their marginal state income tax rate,” Cosso wrote.

Polls open statewide Tuesday at 6 a.m.