* Back in May, Rich wrote that ‘unexpectedly’ Pritzker wouldn’t rule out a service tax for mass transit revenue. An excerpt…
Gov. JB Pritzker unexpectedly moved away last week from his longstanding opposition to taxing services, saying he didn’t want to start taking ideas off the table as lawmakers search for ways to fund and reform the Chicago region’s mass transit system. […]
So, my associate Isabel Miller (who contributed to this column) asked Pritzker during an unrelated media event if he wanted to take any state taxes off the table before the talks heat up, including the service tax.
“I have never been in favor of that before,” Pritzker said of the service tax. He has indeed opposed the tax all the way back to his first 2018 gubernatorial campaign, often calling it regressive.
“There may need to be a source of revenue here,” Pritzker said, “but that’s not something that I have favored in the past.”
As far as specifically ruling out a service tax, however, the governor said: “I really don’t want to start saying, ‘We’re not going to do this, we’re not going to do that.’ At this point, there are just so many pieces of this that we have to look at before we’re going to pay for what’s necessary here as we come off of support from the federal government and making sure we’re restoring transit services.”
* Today, the governor completely shut down an expansion of the sales tax to services during a press gaggle…
Reporter: Last week, House Democrats were presented a menu of options in caucus on revenue since they weren’t so hot in some of your ideas in your introduced budget. One of them was a broadening the sales tax to cover services. Would you support that idea? And if not, what revenue options are you considering to balance the budget?
Pritzker: No, I’ve been opposed to any taxes that are broad based or that would affect working families in this budget.
Reporter: What would you do about a budget that had stuff like that in it?
Pritzker: I’m telling you, anything that’s broad based and that would have a negative impact on working families. I would veto a budget like that. […]
Reporter: Governor you said you would veto a budget that had a broad tax increase. Do the legislative leaders share that sentiment? Have you had conversations with Welch and Harmon about that?
Pritzker: I’ve been pretty clear with everybody that you know, individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, sales taxes. We are not about raising those taxes at all. I would veto a bill that does that.
- Thomas Paine - Wednesday, May 28, 25 @ 4:39 pm:
Sounds like candidate Pritzker had a long talk with Governor Pritzker.
- Joe Schmoe - Wednesday, May 28, 25 @ 4:53 pm:
Ditto.
- LOL - Wednesday, May 28, 25 @ 5:15 pm:
These are two different issues. Pritzker has literally never supported a sales tax expansion. But asking him if he was going to negotiate in the press on the CTA stuff as the first article does and then him saying no I’m not going to take things off the table is actually an oranges to apples comparison. Expanding the sales tax to pay for the operating budget, of course that’s a hard line for him. You’re asking him something concrete vs. asking him if he will take something off the table as part of a discussion.
- Candy Dogood - Wednesday, May 28, 25 @ 5:28 pm:
===Pritzker: No, I’ve been opposed to any taxes that are broad based or that would affect working families in this budget. ===
I too am against regressive taxes. Unless I am mistaken, though, some new things were included in Sales Tax this year pertaining to rentals.
I think Thomas Paine at 4:39 PM has it.
- It's always Sunny in Illinois - Wednesday, May 28, 25 @ 5:29 pm:
Pritzker: I’ve been pretty clear with everybody that you know, individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, sales taxes. We are not about raising those taxes at
Long chuckle……just like the “Fair Maps” commitment…..he hasn’t shied away from raising taxes/fees in his first six years…..long chuckle…..
- JS Mill - Wednesday, May 28, 25 @ 7:39 pm:
Pritzker, aside from his support of a graduated income tax, has not advocated for tax increases often. And those have been limited in scope. But, like @Candy Dogood, I also think Thomas Paine is on to something.
- Leatherneck - Wednesday, May 28, 25 @ 8:25 pm:
2025 Gov. Pritzker meets 2005 Gov. Blagojevich and 2015 Gov. Rauner with just one sentence.
- Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, May 28, 25 @ 8:57 pm:
The state needs a graduated income tax; the Gov knows that. He also understands that an amendment won’t pass if the voters don’t see an immediate need (actually, a personal benefit). Tightening belts will accentuate that need. Passing a sales tax on services would reduce the perception that a graduated tax is needed. That may be the long game here.
- Tim - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 8:24 am:
I would be very surprised if we don’t see several additional revenue ideas, come out the next three days in legislation. If they don’t get it done before they close the book on the budget, wxpect them to look at it this summer, or i. Veto session in the fall. But there’s no way the group of people that run the state of Illinois won’t find new monies from the taxpayers to pay for all their brilliant ideas.