Chicago City Wire

Chicago Republican Party Chairman Chris Cleveland said he wonders how anyone in Illinois can trust Springfield as lawmakers iknsist that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s progressive tax will mean higher property tax rates only for a certain demographic.

“The amendment removes restrictions on the tax rate,” he told Chicago City Wire of the question that will appear on the ballot in November asking whether the state constitution should be amended to allow lawmakers the power to enact a progressive tax as a replacement for the current flat tax system.

“Who trusts this legislature to not raise rates in the future?” he asked.

Chris Cleveland

Cleveland pointed to a new Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) report that concluded that if the tax were enacted, it would effectively wipe out all of the 45,000 jobs the state gained over the last year.

In all, IPI estimated that the state would lose in the neighborhood of 56,399 jobs. On a per capita basis adjusted to take into account the number of employed residents, Chicago would lose at least 22,700 jobs but likely many more, given there is more industry concentrated in the city than in other areas of the state.

“We'll lose jobs immediately, but we'll lose more jobs in the future,” Cleveland said.

It’s not the first time the veteran political leader has sounded the alarm about the proposal Pritzker has been promoting since his days as a candidate.

“If the tax passes, then the caps will be off,” he previously told the Prairie State Wire. “They'll be free to tax anyone at any rate.

“The tax will not work,” he added. “In the short term, it will generate more revenue. Over the longer term, businesses and people will move and revenue will decline.”