Governor's Fair Tax Proposal On Thursday March 7th, Governor Pritzker released his long-awaited Fair Tax plan at the State Capitol in Springfield. Governor Pritzker made changing the income tax system in Illinois a top issue during the 2018 election and made it clear when he was inaugurated that it would be one of his top legislative priorities for the 101st General Assembly. As he promised, the Governor's plan increases the tax burden on the wealthiest taxpayers in Illinois while providing some relief for low and middle-income families. The individual income tax brackets Governor Pritzker is proposing are: - 4.75% for $0 - $10,000 of income
- 4.90% for $10,001 - $100,000 of income
- 4.95% for $100,001 - $250,000 of income
- 7.75% for $250,001 - $500,000 of income
- 7.85% for $500,001 - $1,000,000 of income
- 7.95% of all income if taxpayer makes more than $1,000,000 in a year
The proposal sets the corporate income tax rate at 7.95%. (To become law, Illinois voters would need to approve a constitutional amendment in the next general election, which is in 2020, removing the constitution's current provision requiring a single income tax rate for individuals and a single income tax rate for corporations.) Governor Pritzker's plan also includes increasing the state property tax credit by 20% and creating a new state child tax credit of $100 per qualifying child for joint filers with an income level under $100,000. (The child tax credit begins phasing-out at $60,000.) With these rates and tax credits, the state would bring in an additional $3.4 billion in revenue than what is generated by the current flat tax system. Not only is it much needed revenue, but the new structure would shift the tax burden on Illinois families in a more progressive direction. Voices for Illinois Children supports a progressive income tax and we urge the legislature to adopt the resolution allowing voters to have a say on the question next year. Ready to Launch Symposium The Start 2 Finish Coalition, of which Voices is a member, is holding a symposium titled "Ready to Launch: Investing in Youth from Start to Finish" on April 25th. The Coalition focuses on the needs of Illinois youth age 8-25. The symposium will bring together advocates, funders, policymakers, and researchers to discuss issues facing adolescents in Illinois and what can be done to ensure that they are stable, safe, healthy, educated, employable, and connected. The symposium is being held at the Illinois Institute of Technology at the Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago and will be from 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM. You can purchase tickets for the event here http://bit.ly/2FnyyXI.
Risk and Reach Since last fall, Voices' staff has been working with a group of early childhood advocates and funders on a Risk and Reach Report, which looks at various risk factors impacting young children in Illinois and the government programs serving them. As part of the project, Voices looked at the fiscal aspects of those programs. A preview was provided earlier this month at the City Club of Chicago. The full report will be released in April. We'll have a link to the report on our website and tell you more about it in next month's newsletter. Profile: Karina Alvarez  Voices for Illinois Children has hired Karina Alvarez as our new Community and Advocacy Outreach Coordinator. Karina earned her bachelor's degree from DePaul University, where she majored in both economics and management and minored in international business. Karina also has a master's degree in education, with a focus on educational leadership and policy, from the University of Texas at Austin. During her time in Texas, Karina served as a legislative intern for the Texas House of Representatives and as a graduate assistant at the IC2 institute at UT-Austin, which focuses on entrepreneurship and business innovation in rural communities and small towns. Karina is a native of Illinois and we are very excited to have her back in the state to help with our mission of advocating for strong public investments for children in our state. Save the Date! Voices for Illinois Children will be holding its annual benefit on June 13th from 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Our theme this year is "Standing for Racial Equality". We will be sending out invitations soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the event or would like to be a sponsor of it, you can contact Lillian Baez at lbaez@voices4kids.org or at 312-456-0600. |
