Health & Fitness
Income tax throwdown: Flat tax vs. progressive tax -- what's best for Illinois? Plus: Texas poaching IL jobs?
Progressive vs. flat (vs. none?) income taxes, Rick Perry tries to lasso Illinois businesses, a lawsuit against fmr. Gov. Jim Thompson and the owner of the White Sox, and more.
TAX ATTACKS Today on our website we ratchet up discussion of an effort to change the state constitution to allow a progressive income tax system in Illinois. Despite the incendiary potential of any tax discussion in Illinois, things have been pretty quiet on this issue thus far. But you can expect it to become the issue in the months to come, especially as the 2014 governor's race heats up. So here goes!
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PROGRESSIVE = FAIR The Illinois Constitution requires that if the state has an income tax, all taxpayers must pay the same rate. That rate is now 5 percent, up from 3 percent two years ago. But even with $7 billion a year in new tax income, Illinois remains in a financial abyss, with the worst credit rating in the country and an $8 billion mountain of unpaid bills. State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, says this is because Illinois' flat-rate tax system is outdated. She also thinks it's unfair. She is the sponsor of a constitutional amendment that would allow the state to consider adopting a progressive income tax system, in which taxpayers with higher incomes pay higher rates. If the General Assembly passes this amendment, voters will decide in 2014. She explains in an op-ed today. How would you vote?
Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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PROGRESSIVE = MORE State Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove, says backers of a proposed progressive income tax amendment should focus on spending discipline and better budget practices, not getting more tax money. "Ask yourself this, do you trust the same people who created these problems with even more of your family’s hard earned money?" writes Sandack in an op-ed defending Illinois' flat-rate income tax. It's "one of the few economic policies in Illinois that help us attract investments and new businesses." Read Sandack's view here.
Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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LONG ROAD AHEAD Those who want to enact a graduated income tax in Illinois have a long road ahead, and ultimately voters get to decide. Here's what needs to happen.
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NATIONAL PICTURE Find out which states have flat tax rates, which use graduated systems and which states have no income tax in our infographic.
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LONE STAR BOUND Texas Gov. Rick Perry launched an ad campaign this week to lure Illinois businesses to his state. Texans aren't known for their subtlety, and Perry does not disappoint: "With rising taxes and government interference on the upswing, your situation is not unlike a burning building on the verge of collapse," he says in one ad. Reboot's Madeleine Doubek already was on the verge of losing a neighbor to the Lone Star State. She wonders in a blog post today what our elected officials are doing to keep Illinois businesses and jobs from migrating south. Read it here.
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DAILY TIP-OFF The former head of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, formed in the deal that kept the White Sox in Chicago in the late '80s, says she was fired in 2011 when she blew the whistle on bad business practices. Perri Irmer is suing former Gov. Jim Thompson, who is a former chairman of the ISFA board, and Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Her lawsuit says Thompson and Reinsdorf “sought to silence Perri Irmer and to stifle her efforts to protect Illinois taxpayers from Reinsdorf’s greed.”
Fallout from Chicago Public Schools' plan to close 54 schools continues. The Chicago Sun-Times reports today on the children of iconic Olympian Jesse Owens speaking out against the closure of their father's namesake school. “He called everyone champ, to him every child was a champ, all they needed was the opportunity to be one,” said the eldest of Owens’ three daughters, Gloria Owens Hemphill.
We're a long way from 2014, but the race for governor already is making consistent news. Today comes word that Chicago private equity executive Bruce Rauner has hired the communications director of the Republican Governor's Association as his spokesman. That's a pretty big move for a would-be candidate who emphasizes that his campaign at the moment is merely exploratory. And first-quarter campaign reports on the Democratic side show Lisa Madigan with a sizable fund-raising lead over incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn, whom she may or may not challenge in the Democratic primary.
Links to these and other Illinois news stories can be found in the Daily Tip-Off section of our website.
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