Chicago City Wire

Northwest Side GOP Club Vice President and 41st Ward Republican Committee member Ammie Kessem fumes at the idea of the progressive tax being pushed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker also being sold as the “fair tax.”

“There’s nothing that is fair about a progressive income tax,” Kessem told Chicago City Wire. “This bill initially might lower a middle-income family’s taxes by about $20, but it opens the flood gates to allow these irresponsible politicians to dig deeper into our pockets on all incomes.”

Kessem doesn’t seem surprised that Pritzker and company are going all out to get the proposal that he continues to insist will only mean higher tax rates for the state’s most affluent residents over the finish line, including the governor recently contributing upwards of $51 million to promote the ballot initiative. On Nov. 3, it goes before voters in the form of a constitutional amendment where approval from 60% of those who vote on the issue or a majority of those who vote in the election overall is needed for passage.

In addition to being the only individual to contribute more than $250, Pritzker’s latest gift comes on a top of an earlier donation of $5 million.

“Those that have been in state government and particularly the Democrat party because they have been in control of both the state legislatures for decades have proven time and time again that they cannot behave in a fiscally responsible manner with the people’s money,” Kessem added. “Why on earth would the citizens of this state give them even more of their hard-earned money through a progressive income tax?”