Proposed Graduated Income Tax Amendment rejected by Illinois voters

After Illinois voters cast their ballots to reject the controversial graduated income tax amendment proposed by Democrat lawmakers last year, Senate Republicans are asking that lawmakers work together to find sustainable ways to balance Illinois’ spending and address the backlog of bills facing the state.

Earlier this year, Democrat lawmakers supported a budget for Illinois that recklessly relied on over $6 billion in unsubstantiated borrowing. Now, after the voters sent a clear message that they do not trust the Democrat-controlled Legislature to have unfettered power to raise their taxes, Senate Republicans are seeking substantive reforms to address Illinois’ growing fiscal challenges.  

If lawmakers cannot work together to address the spending crisis perpetuated by negligent, shortsighted spending, Senate Republicans are warning that Illinois’ state finances will only continue to deteriorate.  

Currently, Illinois operates under a single-rate tax structure of 4.95 percent. However, under the proposed constitutional amendment, Illinois’ tax structure would have replaced the flat income tax with a graduated tax system. Senate Republicans have argued that such a structural change would have left the door open for future, unchecked income tax hikes for Illinois taxpayers.

In order to have passed, the proposed amendment needed 60 percent of the vote, or a simple majority of support from those voting in the election. ​​

Entire State Now Under COVID-19 Mitigations

Governor Pritzker has now placed the entire state of Illinois under additional restrictions due to increases in the regional COVID-19 positivity rates.

On Wednesday, Tier 1 COVID-19 mitigations went into effect for IDPH Region 2 (Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, and Woodford). Region 2 was the last area to receive the additional mitigation measures order by Governor JB Pritzker.

The mitigations measures were ordered once the regions moved above 8% positivity for three consecutive days and will remain in place until the rate drops below 6.5% for three straight days.

The mitigation measures prohibit indoor service at bars and restaurants and limit gatherings to 25 people instead of 50. Region 1 (Boone, Carroll, Dekalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago Counties) is currently under Tier 2 mitigations, which reduce certain crowd sizes to 10 people. You can find out more information on the specific regional rules and metrics here: https://www.dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics.

According to the Illinois Department of Public health, the state’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise. On Thursday, the agency announced 9,935 new cases, including 97 additional deaths. The statewide positivity rate is at 10.5%. IDPH is tracking 447,491 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, including 10,030 deaths.

Free Webinar Nov. 9 about BIG program funding 

Illinois business owners will have the opportunity to learn more about the Business Interruption Grant program at a free Webinar Nov. 9 sponsored by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The Technical Assistance on the Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program Webinar is scheduled from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Nov. 9.  

Registration is recommended in advance using this link. Business owners and others can join the Webinar presenters as they walk through the actual BIG application and answer questions on the program. This is open-ended, so participants can come and go as needed for assistance.

The BIG program is a multi-million-dollar program to provide economic relief for small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19. BIG leverages federal funding provided by the CARES Act to help offset COVID-19 related losses for Illinois small businesses. Funding may be used to help businesses with working capital expenses, including payroll costs, rent, utilities and other operational costs. A total of $220 million will be made available for small businesses of all types in Illinois. Grants will be awarded and funded on a rolling basis until funding is depleted. The grant size will be equivalent to two months of expenses.

The BIG program is open to all eligible businesses (for-profit and nonprofit) that had $20 million or less in annual revenue in 2019 and have experienced losses due to COVID-19.       
                                                          
BIG program grant applications and additional support materials are available here.