* There’s so much to unpack in this…

What’s @GovPritzker’s price tag?

Nearly $7 billion in tax hikes and he’s not even a year in. #twill #muniland pic.twitter.com/HTVetqwegg

— Illinois Policy (@illinoispolicy) May 23, 2019

First, the governor’s motor fuel tax increase would bring in $560 million a year, not $1.2 billion (although a commenter points out correctly that another big chunk collected by the state would go to local municipalities). And, sorry, but imposing new or higher taxes and licensing fees on things people choose to do, like smoke cigarettes, bet on sports or play video gaming machines, buy cannabis, or whatever, does not strike me as particularly egregious.

…Adding… As a commenter notes, the Illinois Policy Institute published a recent story entitled “Illinois can spend another $10B on infrastructure without tax hikes.” In that story, “legalized sports betting” is identified as a non-tax way to help pay for it. Yet, that revenue is identified above as taxation.

* But here’s John Tillman in a Tribune op-ed bemoaning all those taxes…

Why are Springfield lawmakers and our new bully billionaire governor trying to make taxpayers the only defense against decades of fiscal mismanagement by their state government?

Pritzker’s a bully? Tillman’s explanation…

When state representatives have the audacity to oppose the governor’s proposal, Pritzker responds by attacking them. That’s what happened when these two Democrats, state Reps. Sam Yingling of Grayslake and Jonathan Carroll of Northbrook, recently said the progressive tax was the wrong choice for their constituents.

Pritzker responded to their pro-constituent decision by saying, “Those who oppose this (progressive tax) plan are siding with millionaires and the very wealthy against everyday Illinoisans, and they need to offer an alternative that will fix our state’s long-standing fiscal challenges.”

Heaven forfend, it’s a… it’s a press release! It’s also downright tame compared to how the Policy Institute has weaponized its Facebook page.

I love this part…

House Speaker Michael Madigan in 2012 supported aligning responsibility for setting retirement benefits with accountability for paying these retirement benefits at schools and universities. These two policies alone would save $12.2 billion over five years.

He claims school consolidation would save $2.9 billion over five years, which means the pension cost shift to local school districts would free up $9.3 billion, or close to $2 billion a year. The very next paragraph…

Taxpayers are already paying the second-highest property taxes in the country, paying the sixth-highest sales taxes and paying the fifth-highest overall tax burden. For fairness, it is time to limit automatic pay raises for some of the nation’s highest-paid state workers.

They’re gonna be paying even higher property taxes if they have to start picking up $2 billion a year in pension costs. Also, how would limiting automatic raises for state workers help local property taxpayers?

* Meanwhile, from Politico…

Do Trump supports like J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax? A new poll commissioned for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition shows a majority of GOP women and non-college voters 55 and older approve of the plan. “More than two-thirds of voters indicate they support the plan after hearing basic information and support extends across the state and across the ideological spectrum,” according the poll by Tulchin Research, the pollster for Bernie Sanders. The survey talked to 500 “likely” November 2020 voters in Illinois from May 2 through 6. There’s a 4-percent margin of error.

The poll memo shows that 68 percent of likely white voters surveyed support the “Fair Tax,” as Pritzker calls it, and 27 percent oppose. Among African Americans, 79 percent support and 17% oppose. And among Latinos, 76 percent support to 17 percent oppose. The poll shows the tax has 67 percent support among white college grads and 68 percent support among whites without four-year college degrees.

* I took a pass on this poll yesterday. Why? Here’s the question…

Here is a statement by SUPPORTERS of the Fair Tax plan to move Illinois to a graduated income tax system:

Under the Fair Tax plan, Illinois could fund schools and finally pay its bills while 97% of Illinois residents would not see a state income tax increase. Only those making above $250,000 a year will see their taxes go up, with the largest increases applying to those making more than $1 million.

Now, do you support or oppose the Fair Tax plan?

That “basic information” is more than just a little leading, if you ask me.