Chicago City Wire

Northwest Side GOP Club Vice President Ammie Kessem is taking matters into her own hands when it comes shutting down Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s progressive tax plan.

“I’ve been posting a lot of videos of real Illinoisans that could be directly impacted by this type of taxation and how this amendment would allow the unchecked and fiscally irresponsible politicians in this state to continue down that road of destruction,” Kessem told Chicago City Wire. “We have been in direct coordination with the ‘Vote no’ campaign and have been placing lawn signs and flyers on lawns and doors when we have been out campaigning for our candidates.”

Despite the governor continuing to sell the tax he has been pushing since his days as a candidate as one that will only mean higher rates for the state’s richest residents, Kessem isn’t buying it. She warns voters it will only be a matter of time before the tax comes at a great cost.

“Illinois’ flat tax is one of the few remaining things that make it still competitive with other states as far as attracting businesses,” she told Chicago City Wire. “It is also one of the few reasons why some retirees still choose to stay in Illinois. You get rid of those incentives and we will see an even greater burden placed upon those that must stay here. Voters would be absolutely foolish to think that the Democrat-controlled legislature won’t continue to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets,”

A new report by the Tax Foundation details how the state’s competitive position would dramatically fall if the progressive tax proposal Pritzker has been pushing since his days as a candidate becomes law. If the measure passes, researchers report Illinois’ overall ranking for business competitiveness would tumble all the way down to 47th in the U.S., ahead of only New Jersey, California and New York.