Kendall County Times

State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) recently joined her GOP colleagues in supporting Senate Resolution 27, which would prevent the General Assembly from approving an income tax constitutional amendment and instead follow the will of Illinois voters.

State Sen. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) has again floated the idea of a progressive income tax after voters shot down a similar proposal in 2020, a recent Illinois Policy report said. At that time, 53.3% of voters rejected the plan to replace the state’s 4.95% flat tax rate with a system that would feature different tax rates for higher-income groups.

“Today, I joined my fellow Senate Republican colleagues in support of Senate Resolution 27, which calls upon the members of the General Assembly to heed the will of voters and reject any attempt to pass another progressive income tax constitutional amendment,” Rezin said in a recent Facebook post.

Rezin also noted in the post that launching another effort to open the conversation about the income tax as Illinois families face economic hardships is “completely out of touch.”

“It is time to utilize the increased revenue Illinois is already receiving to provide tax relief, not tax increases,” she said. “I am proud to sign onto this resolution to help fight against increasing taxes on Illinois families and businesses.”

While Martwick has not introduced legislation to put the proposed progressive tax structure on the statewide ballot, the office of Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) noted that they had discussed the issue. A spokesperson for Harmon said the senator has long supported the idea.

The State faces a pension debt that has soared to approximately $75 billion, Illinois Policy said.