* Mayors snub governor, want their money…

Hoping to flex a little Springfield muscle, mayors representing hundreds of municipalities in metropolitan Chicago today launched a campaign to get lawmakers to stop dipping into the share of state income tax receipts meant for cities and villages, with hundreds of millions of dollars a year at stake.

There are distinctly mixed signs as to how the mayors will fare, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office standing by its view that if municipalities want help, they ought to get behind his plan to close $900 million in “corporate tax loopholes.” […]

A Pritzker spokeswoman said the solution is simple: back the plan to close loopholes. Because some of those loopholes affect local tax collections, that step would generate $228 million a year for local governments, more than the proposed $152 million cut in the local distributive share.

But Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett likened that to “a shell game.” Instead of “using our money as some sort of leverage,” he said, Pritzker ought to restore the distributive share.

“Our money.”

* Sun-Times…

As pot smokers across Illinois celebrated 420 — marijuana’s unofficial high holiday — state Rep. La Shawn Ford quietly filed a long-awaited amendment to a bill that aims to resolve the state’s beleaguered cannabis licensing process and vastly expand the legal weed industry.

“This is driving home the intent of the cannabis law of Illinois,” Ford, a Chicago Democrat, told the Sun-Times on Tuesday. “We want to get to the point of true social equity.”

Ford’s proposal would most notably create up to 120 new pot shop licenses, adding to the 75 dispensary permits that have remained in limbo for nearly a year. Those outstanding licenses were the first prioritized to social equity applicants, a designation created by the law that legalized recreational weed in an effort to diversify Illinois’ white-dominated marijuana industry.

* Bipartisan tax bill…

State Sen. Win Stoller, R-Germantown Hills, has Senate Bill 2531 at the statehouse that would change state tax code so businesses can take advantage of a change the IRS approved allowing them to file as an entity, rather than on the individual level.

“The beautiful thing about this is it will cost Illinois nothing,” Stoller said. “It’s completely revenue-neutral to Illinois.”

He said if passed and signed into law, the measure could lower the federal tax burden for more than 400,000 Illinois pass-through businesses, S-corporations and partnerships in Illinois. […]

The measure is also supported by state Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, especially because it is revenue-neutral.

“And in a time where Illinois continues to face the challenge that we do, being able to provide some relief to our small businesses and help economic growth and job creation is something I think everyone should get on board,” Martwick said.

The bill was placed on Third Reading yesterday.

* More bipartisanship from Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) and Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) writing in the Sun-Times…

In House Bill 3123, we are proposing the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit to build on the federal aid, providing that needed boost to private housing developers ready to go to work. We estimate building 3,500 homes or apartments every year through the program, supporting 17,150 jobs over the next 10 years and creating more than $1 billion in extra income for Illinoisans over a decade.

Illinois would join 20 states now using the tax credit to match more federal funds for building affordable housing, and recent congressional action means there are even more federal aid dollars available for these projects.

The best news? While the tax credit comes with an estimated annual $35 million price tag, Illinois will see zero expenses until the projects are complete and the housing occupied. We will see the direct benefits of today’s investment at no cost to taxpayers until more people have a place to call home. We must credit the leadership of the Illinois Housing Council and its coalition of supporting partners for helping us push for this long-term solution.

* Related…

* Affordable housing tax credit bill advances out of committee

* New bill would require nursing homes to allow virtual visits

* Legislation from Cunningham to help community gardens