CON: ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE

Three retirees have joined the Illinois Policy Institute in a lawsuit filed October 5 to challenge the language in the progressive tax amendment, on the grounds that it is not neutral.

Officials on the free market think tank’s website say that the summary is misleading because it suggests that the progressive tax amendment would only grant lawmakers the ability to “impose higher income tax rate on higher income levels,” but the amendment does not guarantee the impact only on higher earners.

The plaintiffs also say that the progressive tax opens the door to a retirement income tax in Illinois, because 32 states with a progressive tax system also tax retirement income in some form. (AARP Illinois has noted, however, that the amendment does not make it easier to tax retirement income, although failure to pass the amendment could mean drastic spending cuts to services and a tax on retirement income.)

In addition to the Illinois Policy Institute, plaintiffs include Don Wojtowicz, 84, a former Chicago Police Department officer for 25 years and Chicago Department of Aviation employee for 24 years; Barbara McGann, 83, a retired Orland Park resident who worked at a South Holland auto body shop for 25 years and John Sutherland, a former Chicago Fire Department member for 20 years.

The Illinois Policy Institute (illinoispolicy.org) outlined its opposition in an August 27 blog. Mistrust of Illinois lawmakers, as well as differentiation between Illinois taxpayers of different income levels and the effect of the progressive tax on small businesses, were some of their issues.