Dupage Policy Journal

Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) is calling on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to take the progressive income tax off the November 2020 ballot, as economists foresee unemployment possibly reaching 30 percent in the second quarter – including more than 130,000 people in DuPage County alone.

On March 19, McSweeney tweeted:

“We're in the middle of a national crisis and Illinois families are hurting. @GovPritzker - Please work with the General Assembly to immediately take your progressive tax hike off the ballot. Another tax increase would destroy many small businesses and hurt our citizens! #twill

Between March 16-18, there were 64,000 unemployment claims filed in the state of Illinois as the spread of the novel coronavirus began to necessitate the closure of businesses. This is 10 times the number of claims filed March 16-18, 2019. And COVID-19-related job losses that are continuing only add to the job losses that some economists predict the progressive tax proposal could bring, McSweeney argues.

Pritzker proposes a change to the Illinois constitution to replace the flat rate tax that currently exists with a progressive tax – aimed at first at the top earners in the state (those making $250,000 or more). Pritzker calls this proposal a “fair tax,” but the DuPage Policy Journal has found that families in DuPage County will pay about $3,500. And it won’t fix the state’s budgetary issues, although Pritzker says it will, the journal reported.

In addition, the Illinois Policy Institute suggests Pritzker’s estimate of how much money the progressive tax will bring in is far short of what is needed for the state’s spending.

On March 22, Bloomberg reported that James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, predicted a decline of at least 50 percent gross domestic product and called for the Fed to put everything on the table.