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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 1

 
2    WHEREAS, The 101st General Assembly of the State of
3Illinois has submitted Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional
4Amendment 1, a proposition to amend the Illinois Constitution,
5to the voters of Illinois at the November 2020 general
6election; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Illinois Constitution Amendment Act requires
8the General Assembly to prepare a brief explanation of the
9proposed amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment,
10a brief argument against the amendment, and the form in which
11the amendment will appear on the ballot, and also requires the
12information to be published and distributed to the electorate;
13therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
15ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
16CONCURRING HEREIN, that the proposed form of Section 3 of
17Article IX shall be published as follows:
 
18
"ARTICLE IX
19
REVENUE

 
20SECTION 3. LIMITATIONS ON INCOME TAXATION
21    (a) The General Assembly shall provide by law for the rate

 

 

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1or rates of any tax on or measured by income imposed by the
2State. A tax on or measured by income shall be at a
3non-graduated rate. At any one time there may be no more than
4one such tax imposed by the State for State purposes on
5individuals and one such tax so imposed on corporations. In any
6such tax imposed upon corporations the highest rate shall not
7exceed the highest rate imposed on individuals by more than a
8ratio of 8 to 5.
9    (b) Laws imposing taxes on or measured by income may adopt
10by reference provisions of the laws and regulations of the
11United States, as they then exist or thereafter may be changed,
12for the purpose of arriving at the amount of income upon which
13the tax is imposed."; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That a brief explanation of the proposed
15amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, a brief
16argument against the amendment, and the form in which the
17amendment will appear on the ballot shall be published and
18distributed as follows:

 

 

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1
PROPOSED AMENDMENT
2
TO SECTION 3 OF ARTICLE IX
3
OF THE ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION

 
 
 
4
That will be submitted to the voters
5
November 3, 2020

 
 
 
6
This pamphlet includes

 
7
EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT
8
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT
9
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE AMENDMENT
10
FORM OF BALLOT
 

 

 

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1    To the Electors of the State of Illinois:
 
2    The Illinois Constitution establishes a structure for
3government and laws. There are three ways to initiate change to
4the Illinois Constitution: (1) a constitutional convention may
5propose changes to any part; (2) the General Assembly may
6propose changes to any part; or (3) a petition initiative may
7propose amendments limited to structural and procedural
8subjects contained in the Legislative Article. The people of
9Illinois must approve any changes to the Constitution before
10they become effective. The purpose of this document is to
11inform you of proposed changes to the Illinois Constitution and
12provide you with a brief explanation and a summary of the
13arguments in favor of and in opposition to the proposed
14amendment.
 
15
EXPLANATION

 
16    The proposed amendment grants the State authority to impose
17higher income tax rates on higher income levels, which is how
18the federal government and a majority of other states do it.
19The amendment would remove the portion of the Revenue Article
20of the Illinois Constitution that is sometimes referred to as
21the "flat tax," that requires all taxes on income to be at the
22same rate. The amendment does not itself change tax rates. It
23gives the State the ability to impose higher tax rates on those

 

 

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1with higher income levels and lower tax rates on those with
2middle or lower income levels. You are asked to decide whether
3the proposed amendment should become a part of the Illinois
4Constitution.
 
5
Arguments in Favor of the Proposed Amendment
 
6    Illinois' current tax system unfairly benefits
7millionaires and billionaires and this amendment will set
8things right for middle-class and working people. Currently, it
9is unfair that billionaires pay the same tax rate as regular
10people.
 
11    Voting "yes" on the amendment means that the State will
12enact a new tax structure where only those making above
13$250,000 a year will see their taxes go up.
 
14    This amendment is simply upgrading Illinois' old tax system
15to a graduated system which is how the federal government and
16the majority of other states do it.
 
17This Amendment Would Make Illinois' Tax System Fair
 
18    Approval of this amendment would enact a fair system that
19allows the state to tax wealthy people at higher rates and
20lower income people at lower rates, replacing Illinois' current

 

 

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1unfair tax system, in which wealthy people pay the exact same
2tax rate as lower and middle income people.
 
3    Illinois' current tax system unfairly benefits
4millionaires and billionaires, and approval of this amendment
5will set things right for the middle class and working people.
 
6    This amendment will help small business owners by creating
7a stable economic environment for their businesses to thrive.
 
8    While others try to mislead you, under the current tax
9system in Illinois, policymakers already have the authority to
10set any tax rate and to change tax rates at their will. The
11current system forces policymakers to charge the same tax rate
12to everyone, regardless of how much money they make. If this
13amendment passes, the State will have the ability to tax higher
14income earners at a different rate. In fact, upon passage of
15this Amendment, a new tax structure will go into effect where
1697% of taxpayers will pay the same or less, while only those
17making more than $250,000 a year will see a tax increase.
 
18    This amendment does not tax retirement income.
 
19The Federal Government and Most States Use the Graduated Tax
20System Proposed in this Amendment, Not the Unfair System
21Currently Used in Illinois
 

 

 

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1    Illinois is among a minority of states that do not utilize
2graduated tax rates because the Illinois Constitution requires
3a "flat tax" that penalizes middle-class and working people and
4benefits higher income individuals.
 
5    A majority of states and the federal government already use
6the kind of graduated income tax system proposed in this
7amendment to ensure that wealthy people pay their fair share of
8taxes.
 
9    Nearby states including Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio,
10and Wisconsin are among the majority of states that have
11graduated tax systems.
 
12Illinois' Current Income Tax System Relies on Taxes from Middle
13and Lower Income Earners, While a Graduated System Would Lower
14that Burden and Fund Critical Programs such as Education and
15Human Services
 
16    While some states have fair tax rates in which the highest
17income earners pay the highest tax rate, Illinois' "flat tax"
18rate continues to rely unfairly on taxes from middle and lower
19income earners.
 
20    Under Illinois' "flat tax" structure, a nurse making

 

 

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1$50,000 per year pays the same tax rate as an executive making
2$4 million per year. A graduated tax rate would have the
3executive pay more.
 
4    Because of the way our current tax system is set up, the
5bottom fifth of Illinois taxpayers (those making below $21,800)
6contribute 14.4% of their income to state and local taxes,
7compared to 7.4% for the top 1 percent of Illinois taxpayers.
 
8    If this Amendment passes, the State has already enacted a
9new graduated tax structure where 97% of taxpayers will pay the
10same or less.
 
11     Under the new tax structure, only the top 3% of Illinois
12income earners would pay more in income taxes. Everyone who
13makes $250,000 or less a year would pay the same or less.
 
14     Over 95% of small businesses earn $250,000 or less a year
15in profits, and their owners will not see a tax increase under
16the new tax structure.
 
17     This change will generate additional revenue each year
18that can help address Illinois' budget deficit and fund
19critical programs, including the State's education system,
20public safety, and social services like mental health and
21substance abuse treatment and domestic violence shelters.
 

 

 

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1After the COVID-19 Pandemic, We Need to Do All We Can to Help
2the Economy and Middle-Class and Working People
 
3    Working people and essential workers like nurses, first
4responders, and grocery store clerks should not pay the same
5tax rate as the wealthy. Nurses making $50,000 a year should
6not pay the same tax rate as an executive making $4,000,000 a
7year.
 
8    Having wealthy people pay more would reduce the burden on
9working families. This is money that middle and lower income
10people need for housing, groceries, medicine, and essentials.
 
11    When the wealthiest people pay more, middle and lower
12income earners can pay less while the State funds critical
13services that our essential workers rely on.
 
14
Arguments Against the Proposed Amendment

 
15    1. The Amendment gives the Legislature power to increase
16taxes on any group of taxpayers with no limits and no
17accountability and without any requirement to use the
18additional revenue to fund essential needs such as healthcare,
19education, or public safety.
 

 

 

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1    2. Taxes and spending are out of control. The Legislature
2should not be allowed to keep raising taxes until they get
3their spending under control.
 
4    3. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the worst
5possible time for a massive tax increase.
 
6The Amendment gives the Legislature power to increase taxes on
7any group of taxpayers with no limits and no accountability and
8without any requirement to use the additional revenue to fund
9essential needs such as healthcare, education, or public
10safety.
 
11    The proposed amendment would give the Legislature
12unlimited new authority to increase income tax rates on any
13group of taxpayers at will, including low-income and
14middle-income families and small business owners. There would
15be no limit on the number of tax brackets that could be created
16and no limit on how high tax rates could be increased on
17individual taxpayers. In addition, this proposed change will
18pave the way for a tax on retirement income.
 
19    Nothing in the amendment requires the Legislature to do
20anything to control spending. Nor does it require funds to be
21spent on essential needs such as healthcare, education, or
22public safety. It would simply give the Legislature a blank

 

 

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1check to spend billions of dollars however they want, with no
2accountability.
 
3Taxes and spending are out of control. The Legislature should
4not be allowed to keep raising taxes until they get their
5spending under control.
 
6    Illinois already has some of the highest property taxes and
7sales taxes in the nation. And the Legislature has increased
8Illinois income tax rates twice in the past decade to try to
9deal with the out-of-control spending in Springfield.
 
10    Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, our state had a huge and
11growing multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, and the unfunded
12pension liability skyrocketed to over $137 billion. That's
13because the Legislature has continued to increase state
14spending instead of eliminating government waste, corruption,
15and abuse.
 
16    Because they refuse to control spending or pass major
17reforms, the Legislature will just continue to raise taxes on
18everyone in Illinois, and middle-class families will be their
19next target.
 
20In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the worst possible
21time for a massive tax increase.
 

 

 

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1    The COVID-19 pandemic caused layoffs, unemployment,
2bankruptcies, and closures. As small businesses and local
3employers struggle to rebuild, this is the worst possible time
4to impose huge new tax increases. Even before the COVID 19
5crisis, many residents and businesses were leaving the state
6because of the high tax burden. If the Amendment passes, it
7would be the last straw for thousands of small businesses,
8causing more jobs to leave the state, and making Illinois lose
9out on investments to rebuild our economy. This would mean
10fewer jobs and less opportunity for Illinois families.
 
11
FORM OF BALLOT

 
12
Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution
13
Explanation of Amendment

 
14The proposed amendment grants the State authority to impose
15higher income tax rates on higher income levels, which is how
16the federal government and a majority of other states do it.
17The amendment would remove the portion of the Revenue Article
18of the Illinois Constitution that is sometimes referred to as
19the "flat tax," that requires all taxes on income to be at the
20same rate. The amendment does not itself change tax rates. It
21gives the State the ability to impose higher tax rates on those
22with higher income levels and lower income tax rates on those

 

 

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1with middle or lower income levels. You are asked to decide
2whether the proposed amendment should become a part of the
3Illinois Constitution.
 
4-------------------------------------------------------------
5       YES            For the proposed amendment -
6----------       of Section 3 of Article IX
7       NO         of the Illinois Constitution.
8-------------------------------------------------------------