Darrel Hickox, a member of the Jasper County Board, disputed the numbers from state public health officials, contending that “nobody” in Jasper County has died from the coronavirus.
He said that members of the media who report on the pandemic are “socialists, liberals and communists.”
“There has been some coronavirus here, but they was dying anyway,” Hickox said.
…Adding… OneMan points out in comments that using just a 40 percent “herd immunity” (which is on the extreme low end of projections) would result in 57,591 additional deaths [updated number].
The possibility for high school students to play all fall sports is again at a standstill.
On Thursday, a DuPage County judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order against the Illinois High School Association that could have allowed more fall sports to be played.
The class action lawsuit, brought on by a group of student-athletes and their parents, was dismissed Monday morning.
Orland Park has dropped a federal lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker challenging restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to court filings.
The village and other plaintiffs in the case had initially filed the complaint in mid-June, and last month told the judge overseeing the case it planned to file an amended lawsuit by this Thursday.
The short document filed Tuesday did not give an explanation why the village decided to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit.
Three more DeKalb County restaurant owners are joining in on a lawsuit filed against Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health alleging “unfair” regional mitigations due to COVID-19 resurgences.
Karlsbad Tavern & Grill, 413 W. Main St. in Genoa, Uncle Milty’s Pizza Place, 131 W. Market St. in Somonauk, and Rambo’s Bar & Grill, 140 W. Market St. in Somonauk joined seven other businesses owners across the county suing the the governor and IDPH Director Ngozi Ezike, according to their lawyer, Bradley Melzer, of Sycamore-based Cronauer Law Thursday.
The update comes a week after seven business owners announced they’re suing to appeal to public health officials to designate consequences of COVID-19 resurgences on a county by county basis, not regionally. They’re arguing that the metrics used to designate mitigations — including a positivty rate threshold of 8% — is unfairly skewed because of higher rates in Winnebago and surrounding counties.
The real victory for Wilson will be if he can get 5 percent of the vote, which would make his Willie Wilson Party a permanent fixture on Illinois ballots, just as the Green and Libertarian parties have.
Scoring 5+ percent does not give parties permanent ballot spots. The Green and Libertarian parties are on the ballot this year because of the coronavirus and a federal judge’s munificence.
*** UPDATE *** From the candidate…
I recently tested positive for COVID-19. Like so many of my fellow Americans, I am not immune from COVID-19. This is a disease that does not discriminate. Since the beginning of this pandemic I have distributed more than 40 million face masks to first responders, senior citizens, churches and individuals.
While we have taken precautions by wearing face masks and social distancing this disease is highly contagious. I join the ranks of the more than 7 million people in America that have tested positive for Coronavirus.
I am experiencing mild symptoms at this time. However, I am confident that we will beat COVID-19. I have begun the 10-day quarantine and will bounce back from this stronger than before. I am suspending all in person campaigning for the United States Senate the next 10 days while I quarantine. I thank God for great doctors and first responders that care for all of us.
I am praying for all of those impacted by COVID-19 in Illinois and our country at this time. I believe in America and our ability to overcome COVID-19.
Frerichs, who has since walked back his statement, had been scheduled to address his “misleading” comments in a press conference Tuesday, in which he aimed to “reassure senior citizens that the proposal will not tax retirement income.” That appearance was abruptly canceled just 10 minutes before it was set to begin. […]
Speculation swirled over why Frerichs suddenly canceled his Tuesday appearance, but it appears Pritzker may have played a role.
“Earlier today, Gov. Pritzker put the muzzle on Treasurer Frerichs who was minutes away from telling the people of Illinois the truth: Pritzker has a plan to tax retirement income in Illinois and needs the constitutional amendment to get it done” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not deny Pritzker’s involvement in the decision.
* So, I asked the governor’s office for a response. Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…
The Governor speaks regularly to allies and stakeholders about policy. The decision on his media availability is ultimately up to the Treasurer.
Heh.
*** UPDATE *** Quentin Fulks told WCIA’s Mark Maxwell the reality about the prospects for a tax on retirement income. “It’s political suicide,” Fulks said (correctly, I would add). “It’s an extremely unpopular topic in Illinois”…
* Background is here if you need it. Republican members of the Special Investigating Committee respond to the postponement of hearings until after the election…
“Special treatment is being given to Speaker Madigan,” [Rep. Tom Demmer] said. “It deprives the people of Illinois and fellow members from learning what conduct the speaker may have engaged in.”
“Chairman Welch’s decision is an utter insult to the people of Illinois,” Mazzochi said. “Welch said he would run a professional investigation. This is how a professional politician covers up the truth. The only thing that seems to matter is protecting Mike Madigan.”
“I thought Chris Welch was a man of integrity,” Wehrli said. “Today Chris Welch decided integrity doesn’t matter. We are being stonewalled. We are being lied to protect one man.”
“Chairman Welch’s decision is an utter insult to the people of Illinois who want and deserve the truth. Chairman Welch has now become Chairman Squelch,” said Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst).
Mazzochi, one of three Republicans serving on the investigating committee, said it’s clear that Welch is only interested in protecting Madigan.
“Chris Welch said that he was going to run a professional investigation. This is not how a professional runs an investigation. This is how a political professional covers up the truth and crushes an investigation,” she said. “Chris Welch is a coward. He does not have the resolve to have Mike Madigan come before our committee, and actually answer those questions, blocking the right of voters to know.”
State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, is also on the committee and said delaying the next hearing to after the election is stonewalling and a disservice to voters.
“We have a Speaker of the House mentioned 72 times is a deferred prosecution agreement,” Mazzochi said. “We are right before an election and Chris Welch doesn’t want to give voters that transparency. That’s despicable.”
“The only thing apparently that matters is protecting Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan,” Mazzochi said. “That’s what matters to Chris Welch: protecting his patronage, protecting his political power, protecting his privilege. … This is stonewalling. This is ostrich-in-the-sand decision-making.”
As the late Rep. Zeke Giorgi used to say about the House: “Best show in Illinois.”
*** UPDATE *** Stay tuned…
MEDIA ADVISORY: Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin Says Time’s Up for Democrats: Demand Answers from Madigan or Call for His Resignation
WHO: Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs)
WHAT: Leader Durkin says time’s up for Democrats, either demand answers in ComEd’s nine-year bribery scheme or demand Madigan’s resignation.
The nonpartisan Tax Foundation has released an updated report on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s (D) proposal to permit a graduated-rate income tax in Illinois, which would take effect if voters approve a constitutional amendment on November 3.
If passed, Illinois would have some of the highest individual and corporate income taxes in the country and one of the least competitive overall tax codes, causing the state to decline from 36th to 47th on the State Business Tax Climate Index.
Other findings from the report include:
• Combined corporate income would be taxed at 10.49 percent, the second-highest rate in the nation
• Pass-through business income would be taxed at a top rate of 9.49 percent, the sixth-highest rate in the nation
• The neighboring states of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri have all cut income taxes in recent years, while Illinois may be headed in the opposite direction
• The proposal diverges sharply from ideal—or even typical—income tax structure by:
o Omitting inflation indexing (resulting in “bracket creep”)
o Creating a marriage penalty
o Imposing a recapture provision which subjects the entirety of a taxpayer’s income to the top marginal rate once they reach that bracket
• Should voters permit a graduated-rate income tax, there’s reason to believe that rates may climb even higher and that more taxpayers would be subjected to higher rates
“Were Pritzker’s proposal adopted,” writes Senior Policy Analyst Jared Walczak, “Illinois would trail its peers in just about every aspect of its tax code. If businesses and individuals are leaving the state now, these policies can only make the problem worse.”
It’s not surprising that a group that’s lauded Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts is against a policy that will fix our broken and unfair tax system that forces hardworking families and struggling small businesses to pay the same tax rate as millionaires and billionaires. It means at least 97% of Illinoisans will receive a tax cut, including more than 95% of small businesses, while generating billions of dollars in additional revenue that can go toward funding our education system and lessening the property tax burden. Currently, thousands of lower-income minority families are fleeing Illinois each year in search of better opportunity, and by passing the Fair Tax we can create a state where they, and all of our families, can thrive.
Illinois does not currently tax retirement income, but there is nothing in the constitution preventing legislators from passing a law to start doing so.
“The myths and lies that are out there about that are obvious of where they’re coming from which are individuals who don’t want to pay their fair share,” [AARP Illinois State Director Bob Gallo] said. “The state could have raised or taxed retirement income all along and they have floated that trial balloon in the past and AARP stopped it in its tracks.”
Gallo said AARP will do the same should anyone instigate discussions about taxing retirement.
He said a graduated tax will help seniors, by helping to get the state on sounder fiscal footing after in recent years having social services that support vulnerable populations get gutted for lack of funding.
Don Todd, president of the Illinois Alliance for Retried Americans said opponents have “spread lies about the fair tax.” He cited an ad featuring a woman who says she is a grandmother who says she won’t be able to afford to live in Illinois if the amendment passes because it will tax her retirement.
Opposition groups have cited comments made by Treasurer Mike Frerichs last summer to justify their ads suggesting retirement income could be taxed if the amendment is approved. Frerichs told a chamber of commerce that a graduated tax would allow taxation of very high pension incomes. However, he has emphasized he does not support taxing retirement income and Pritzker also opposes it.
Carmen Batances of Chicago, a member of Jane Addams Seniors in Action, said the flat tax “disproportionately harms low income communities of color in Illinois.”
“Many of our children are overtaxed with the flat tax,” she said. “I demand the false advertisements made to scare seniors be taken down immediately.”
…Adding… The entire @liz_uihlein account has been deleted. This could be a fake. Taking down the screen shot, etc. for now.
…Adding… Institute of Government and Public Affairs press release…
A new report from IGPA, titled How Often Do Graduated and Flat Rate States Change Their Tax Rates?, looks at what other states have done in the recent past.
“The debate over Illinois’ graduated tax proposal made me wonder, do other states change their personal income tax rates frequently?” said report author and IGPA Senior Scholar David Merriman. “It turns out the answer is no, and that goes for states with graduated-rate structures and flat-rate structures. Changes to personal income tax rates just aren’t that common.”
The report considers the personal income tax systems of all U.S. states and the District of Columbia from 2002 through 2019. Merriman, who also chairs IGPA’s Working Group on the Fiscal Health of Illinois, looked at 153 cases of annual tax rate dynamics in states with flat rates taxes and 592 cases of tax rate dynamics in states with graduated rate taxes.
In each year, Merriman examined whether any state tax rate changed. Out of 153 total cases, there were tax rate changes in 27 cases, or 17.76%, in states with a flat-rate tax. In graduated-rate states, out of 592 total cases, there were tax rate changes in 94 cases, or 15.85%. When rate changes were made, rate cuts were much more common than rate increases in both flat- and graduated-rate systems.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The governor’s campaign folks are going with it…
In a since deleted tweet, Uline President Liz Uihlein announced her opposition to the Fair Tax, calling it a “handout” to her employees. These are the same employees she forced to come into work in a call center at the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic back in March. In the tweet, she expresses concern about having to “subsidize” her employees’ taxes, though her company received up to $18.6 million from the taxpayers of Wisconsin when it moved its facilities there in 2010. The Uihlein family is estimated to be worth $4 billion.
Uihlein’s husband, Richard Uihlein, has donated $100,000 to an organization fighting against the Fair Tax.
This tweet by Uihlein echoes a comment made by another opponent of the Fair Tax a few months ago, when Cindy Neal despicably called low income Illinoisans “takers” and high-income earners “makers” in an interview with WCIA’s Mark Maxwell.
“Opponents of the Fair Tax can try to hide behind millions of dollars in disingenuous ads and false rhetoric, but the truth will always come out,” said Quentin Fulks, Chairman of Vote Yes For Fairness. “Billionaires like Liz Uihlein and Ken Griffin don’t care about our middle and lower-income families. They only care about protecting their bottom line, which is why they’re fighting to stop the Fair Tax, which would make them finally pay their fair share and give a tax cut to 97% of Illinoisans. Time and again, opponents of the Fair Tax have made clear they’re only in it for themselves, and Vote Yes For Fairness is committed to making sure they don’t get away with their deceptive tactics.”
The alleged tweet…
*** UPDATE 2 *** As I suspected…
Rich,
I am writing to you to confirm that the alleged Liz Uihlein tweet that was the subject of your coverage yesterday was a fake account, and that Liz Uihlein has never had a twitter account. After being reported, the fake account has been removed by Twitter for impersonation. We respectfully request that you please remove this coverage of this issue or update it to indicate it was a fake account in no way related to Liz Uihlein.
State Representative Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), who serves as the minority spokesperson on the Special Investigating Committee II, released the following statement:
“At last week’s meeting of the Special Investigating Committee, a motion to subpoena key witnesses was ruled out of order by Chairman Welch, and no vote of the committee was taken. After the meeting, we sent copies of the requested subpoenas to Chairman Welch for his review. Still now, a week later, he has not responded nor issued any subpoenas.
Instead, Chairman Welch sent a letter to ComEd requesting a data dump of all communications in the last decade between ComEd or Exelon and any staff member, employee, contractor, or consultant of Governors Quinn, Rauner, and Pritzker, Senate Presidents Cullerton and Harmon, Senate Minority Leaders Radogno and Brady, House Minority Leaders Cross and Durkin, and Speaker Madigan—only one of whom is actually identified in the Deferred Prosecution Agreement. This request involves hundreds of people and could take months for ComEd to respond.
In contrast, I requested from ComEd documents directly related to the DPA—documents they acknowledged during testimony in last week’s meeting. Since the Special Investigating Committee was created by a petition with a specific charge about Speaker Madigan, and with direct references to the DPA, I believe it is appropriate for the committee to call witnesses and request documents that are relevant to the committee’s charge.”
* From Chairman Welch…
“Since Republicans initiated the Special Investigating Committee, Democratic members have sought a cooperative and collegial process. We promptly made appointments, scheduled hearings, contacted the U.S. Attorney, and invited every Republican-requested witness to come before the committee. The first of which led to more than four hours of public questioning of a ComEd representative last week.
“Throughout this process, however, we have been made well aware that our Republican colleagues are wearing two hats. While sitting on a committee that is charged with conducting an impartial investigation based on the petition filed by Leader Durkin, the Republican members of this committee are also engaged in competitive political campaigns in which they have chosen to campaign almost exclusively against the Speaker. Nowhere was this more clear than yesterday when two Republican members of the Special Investigating Committee held a campaign press conference effectively confirming their assumption of guilt and chiding Democratic opponents for not jumping to the same conclusion.
“At every step of this process, our cooperation has been accompanied with the proviso that we will not allow this committee to be used as a stage for political theater – an admonishment our Republican colleagues appear to have taken more as a challenge than as a reflection of this committee’s serious work.
“The committee will meet again in person on November 5 in Springfield – without the backdrop of a political campaign. In the interim, the committee’s work continues; we are reaching out to attorneys for Fidel Marquez to arrange his testimony, and engaging in a thorough review of our subpoena power, so members of this committee can make a fully informed decision and set responsible precedent for years to come.
“Additionally, Republican members have requested documents from ComEd related to its communications with Speaker Madigan or individuals purported to be acting on his behalf, and Democrats have requested more information related to ComEd’s hiring and oversight of lobbyists and consultants. This information provides critical context for the committee’s work. We cannot conduct a thorough investigation with blinders on; if we are to consider whether ComEd’s admissions in the deferred prosecution agreement constitute conduct unbecoming of a lawmaker, we need to understand the full extent of ComEd’s actions – including interactions with other elected officials instrumental to the passage of their legislation.”
…Adding… Response soon…
MEDIA ADVISORY: House Republicans to Discuss Special Investigating Committee
WHO: State Representatives Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) and Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville)
WHAT: House Republicans members of the Special Investigating Committee will discuss details of the Special Investigating Committee.
Governor JB Pritzker today proposed seven guiding principles that will be foundational in the administration’s plans to take action, in partnership with the General Assembly, to reform and modernize the state’s criminal justice system. From ending cash bail to reducing recidivism and modernizing sentencing laws to increasing police accountability and training, these principles aim to keep all Illinois families safe and build opportunity in all of our communities.
These principles build on the agenda outlined by Governor Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton in January of this year, at an event announcing the administration’s Justice, Equity, and Opportunity initiative. The governor commends the decades of tireless work by of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and organizations and advocates across the state to bring Illinois to this point, and the Governor is resolutely committed to working in partnership with these leaders, the General Assembly, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul to bring about meaningful reform. In addition to working with the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus to further build out a criminal justice reform agenda, the governor is also committed to working with the caucus on the additional pillars of their agenda: education and workforce development, economic access and opportunity, and health care and human services.
“We’re building toward an Illinois that works for everyone – and criminal justice reform is a key element of that holistic approach. Together we will shape a more equitable system of justice that makes our state stronger and safer and expands opportunities for all our residents to improve their lives,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “At the state level alone, we spend billions of dollars a year keeping too many people in an overcrowded prison system that has proven itself too expensive, too punitive and wholly ineffective at keeping Illinois families safe. As we move forward with the General Assembly to pass comprehensive criminal justice reform, it is my hope that the nation will look to Illinois as a leader in true equity and justice for generations to come.”
“As I’ve always said, we cannot truly have justice without equity and opportunity. These principles will guide us on a path of repairing the historic harm caused by our justice system, especially in Black and Brown communities,” said Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. “Comprehensive justice reform will help to reverse the systemic cycles that tear apart families, lay barren communities, lead to overcrowded jails, put strains on criminal justice infrastructure, and burden taxpayers. Illinois is enacting change, and setting a standard, that illustrates how compassion in policy can positively impact our nation.”
The governor’s principles focus on a holistic approach that addresses the structural flaws of a criminal justice system that disproportionately impacts people of color and often traps people in a cycle of incarceration and system-involvement.
The seven principles for an equitable criminal justice system are the following:
• End the use of the cash bail system and limit pretrial detention to only those who are a threat to public safety. The governor remains committed to ending a system that disproportionately forces low-income families and people of color into a disruptive cycle of unearned detention and instability. The cash bail system would be replaced by a risk assessment to determine the likelihood of a defendant’s appearance at trial and if there is a threat to public safety posed by a defendant’s pre-trial release.
• Modernize sentencing laws on theft and drug offenses and use a public health approach to address mental health and addiction. Illinois will decrease unnecessary admissions into prison, match modernized sentencing standards across the country, and limit criminal justice system involvement for non-violent offenders who need and would benefit from a public health intervention.
• Reduce excessive lengths of stay in prison by providing pathways for people to earn opportunities for rehabilitation. The state will increase access to sentence credit and time-limited supervised release while limiting penalty enhancements and short-term commitments that disproportionately trap low-income families and people of color in generational cycles of incarceration.
• Prioritize rehabilitation and reduce the risk of recidivism by increasing access to housing and healthcare for returning residents. The state is committed to expanding opportunities, supports, and services for people who are exiting the prison system so that they are set up to succeed upon return to their communities, and which will save taxpayers money by reducing the number of people trapped in a cycle of recidivism.
• Increase police accountability and transparency for police officers and police departments. Illinois will set the standard for the nation in professionalizing and setting statewide standards for police officers. We will advocate for licensing of police officers, strengthen the role of the State Police Merit Board, work alongside police departments to ensure compliance and proper use of body-worn cameras, create a state-level avenue to investigate systemic police misconduct, and remove barriers for civilians to report officer misconduct, like the signed affidavit requirement.
• Update and strengthen statewide standards for use of force by police officers. Illinois is committed to modernizing the legal standard for use of force and implementing common sense policies and trainings that are consistent with best practices and will improve police-community relations. This includes requiring police officers to apply first aid after using force, prohibiting no-knock search warrants, requiring the use of de-escalation techniques, and requiring officers to intervene and report when excessive force is used by another officer.
• Improve interactions with police by decriminalizing minor non-violent offenses, improving police response to crowd control, and increasing language and disability access. By decriminalizing minor non-violent offenses, creating policies and trainings for police response to non-violent crimes and protests, and increasing language and disability access for civilians, Illinois will establish a framework to improve community safety and trust.
“We will only see true, meaningful change within our criminal justice system when we as state leaders work together to eliminate the racism that has plagued it for centuries,” said State Senator Elgie Sims. “I commend the governor for his support of the Black Caucus’ efforts to bring justice and fairness to Black communities throughout the state. I look forward to working with him to pass legislation during the fall veto session.”
“Decades of tough on crime policies have done nothing to reduce gun violence, and are rooted in a history of racist ‘tough on crime’ safety policies,” said State Senator Robert Peters. “There is nothing prideful or righteous about clinging to failure. If we truly do want to win real safety and justice in our communities, then we must commit to real, tangible change. Half measures are not working, and we’ve seen that over the years and years of failed policy. It is now, in the midst of an economic, public health and systemic racism crisis, that we must remember the famous words of one of our country’s greatest leaders: ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’”
“Reforming our criminal justice system is a major step towards addressing systemic racism. In creating equity for black communities across Illinois it is paramount that we implement policies to eradicate mass incarceration, advance police reforms, and reduce violence. We commend the Governor and Lieutenant Governor for their steadfast dedication and commitment to criminal justice reform in Illinois,” said State Representative Justin Slaughter.
The administration is building on its ongoing efforts to create a more just criminal justice system. In partnership with the General Assembly, the administration has established policies for discretionary parole for young adults facing long sentences and increased the amount of incentives available for educational and wellness programming through sentencing credits. Illinois has also banned private correctional centers and private immigration detention centers.
The governor also signed legislation that ensured that the 20,000 people detained pre-trial each year have an opportunity to participate in our democracy and can vote while in detention. Those efforts are in addition to offering first-time registration forms to interested eligible voters in custody, as well as nonpartisan educational sessions on the voting process, current events, and government institutions for those near the end of their incarceration.
Through the law legalizing cannabis, Governor Pritzker has already pardoned over 11,000 individuals for low-level cannabis offenses, and more are expected over the coming months. Through these pardons, thousands of families are no longer prohibited from having access to human services, financial aid for school, professional licensing, jobs, and housing.
Thoughts?
…Adding… ACLU of IL…
Governor Pritzker’s release of principles to address long-term problems in Illinois’ criminal legal system is a welcome contribution to a discussion that brought thousands of Illinoisans out into the streets this summer to demand change. This process must result in a policing system in our state that reduces unnecessary interactions between police and residents and eliminates the corrosive racial bias that has cause so much harm. Our criminal legal system must be reoriented to focus on rehabilitation and return to community, rather than lengthy sentences that do not serve communities or make our state safer.
We welcome these principles and are ready to work with the Gov. Pritzker, Lt. Gov. Stratton, members of the general assembly, including Senators Sims, Peters and Rep. Slaughter, and other advocates to pass bold legislation that lead to meaningful and sustained change.
* Background is here and here. As I told subscribers this morning, this was not his best-ever idea, to say the least…
12 minutes before it was scheduled to begin, @ILTreasurer’s presser has been canceled. But he made sure to clarify that he opposes creating a retirement income tax. pic.twitter.com/T3lVbb40qd
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider today released the following statement after Governor JB Pritzker forced State Treasurer Michael Frerichs to call off his press conference to explain the details of Pritzker’s plan to tax retirement income if the constitutional amendment passes:
“Earlier today, Governor Pritzker put the muzzle on Treasurer Frerichs who was minutes away from telling the people of Illinois the truth: Pritzker has a plan to tax retirement income in Illinois and needs the constitutional amendment to get it done. Pritzker can muzzle Frerichs all he wants but the secret is already out. To protect retirement income from Pritzker’s tax plan, Illinois voters must vote no on the constitutional amendment.”
…Adding… Press release…
Today, Vote Yes For Fairness Chairman Quentin Fulks released the following statement:
“The facts are absolutely clear: the Fair Tax does not tax retirement income, nor does it make it any easier to do so. Treasurer Frerichs supports the Fair Tax because it helps our working families and like the Governor and the General Assembly, opposes taxing retirement income.
“Opponents of the Fair Tax are simply trying to confuse Illinoisans, while attempting to hide the fact that they, as recently as yesterday, have advocated for taxing retirement income and raising the flat tax on all Illinoisans by 20%. These attacks are nothing more than political rhetoric from those who are desperate to ensure millionaires and billionaires avoid paying their share and the burden stays on middle and lower-income families.
“The Fair Tax means 97% of Illinoisans will receive a tax cut, while millionaires and billionaires finally pay their fair share.”
Democratic State Treasurer Michael Frerichs abruptly canceled a Tuesday news conference to rebut comments he made in June about taxing retirement income, an issue now being used by opponents fighting a proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment.
Ten minutes before he planned to speak at the downtown James R. Thompson Center, a Frerichs aide told reporters the event had been canceled. Asked for a reason, the aide offered none. […]
Before Frerichs called off his news conference, the lead group opposing the proposed amendment, the Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike, issued a statement contending the state treasurer had “admitted taxing retirement income is on the table.”
“No amount of backtracking can change the fact this is the worst possible time to raise taxes, and we simply can’t trust Springfield politicians,” said Lissa Druss, spokesperson for the coalition.
What a mess. lol
…Adding… Frerichs narrowly won his first statewide bid. From his 2014 victory statement…
“Tens of thousands of Rauner-Frerichs independents in Central Illinois were critical to this race”
…Adding… Press release…
“Today is a perfect example why retirees can’t trust Springfield Politicians with new taxing powers and why our bipartisan coalition against the Tax Hike Amendment is growing.
“The Illinois Treasurer admitted taxing retirement income is on the table, exposing just how devastating it would be for middle-class families, small businesses, and family farmers if the Tax Hike Amendment passes.
“No amount of backtracking can change the fact this is the worst possible time to raise taxes, and we simply can’t trust Springfield Politicians.”
Lissa Druss
Spokesperson for the Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment
Revenues flowing into state coffers from legalized gambling operations plummeted during the fiscal year that ended June 30 as casinos, racetracks and other video gambling venues were forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many people also slowed down on buying lottery tickets, according to a new report by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or CoGFA, which said total state tax revenues generated through legalized gambling fell 13.4 percent, or about $200 million, compared to the previous fiscal year.
“This decline is in large part due to the suspension of video gaming and casino operations between March 16 and June 30, which thereby prevented any revenues from being generated from these sources during this time period,” the report stated. “Although this suspension has been since lifted, gaming has only returned on a limited basis and it remains unclear how long these limitations will last. Even with the resumption of wagering, it is expected that the ramifications of the pandemic on public confidence will persist for some time.”
The report noted that casinos suffered the biggest declines, with adjusted gross receipts falling by 30 percent, or more than $400 million, compared to the previous year. That included a $119 million drop in receipts at the state’s largest casino, Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, but all other casinos reported significant declines as well.
Illinois’ recreational marijuana industry continues to surge as many other businesses struggle to survive during the pandemic, with statewide sales surpassing $67.6 million in September.
According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, adult-use cannabis sales in August climbed nearly 5.8% over July, when the state had nearly $64 million in sales.
Sales of recreational pot have increased each month since February, which saw a slight drop in sales from January, the first month of legal weed in Illinois.
But…
Yes, yes, you all tell me you're drinking more in 2020 but State of Illinois (sky high) alcohol gallonage taxes are down 4.2% vs last fiscal year.
