A Cook County judge has, for now, rejected the attempt by opponents of the attempt to rewrite Illinois’ tax rules to force state officials to tell Illinois voters that the official ballot and a pamphlet purportedly written by state officials to educate voters would actually mislead them into approving the new tax structure.
On Oct. 9, a judge denied the request from the Illinois Policy Institute and three Illinois pensioners for a temporary restraining order against Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and other Illinois state officials overseeing the 2020 vote.
The Institute and their co-plaintiffs had sought a court order directing the White and others to send all voters a “corrective notice,” to allegedly better inform voters on what the so-called Fair Tax Amendment actually is and what it would empower the state’s Democrat-dominated government to do. They filed suit on Oct. 5.
A spokesman for the Illinois Policy Institute said the judge’s Friday ruling doesn’t end the legal action, and the Institute will continue “to work its way through court procedures.”
They said they intend to ask the judge to allow an “evidentiary hearing,” to continue to make their case.
“We are committed to prosecuting our claims in court and will continue to fight for Illinois voters’ right to fair and accurate information on the ballot and in state-issued pamphlets,” said Austin Berg, vice president of marketing at the Illinois Policy Institute. “We look forward to our next opportunity to ague on behalf of voters and retirees.”
A spokesperson for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office did not reply to request for comment.
A copy of the judge’s order was not available Friday.
Next month, Illinois voters will be asked to vote yes or no on a new amendment to the state constitution. Supported by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and the Democratic supermajorities in the General Assembly, the amendment would abolish constitutional protections now in place, preventing lawmakers from enacting different income tax rates on different taxpayers.
Currently, if lawmakers wish to raise income taxes, they must raise taxes on everyone in Illinois, under the so-called “flat tax” requirement in the Illinois state constitution.
The amendment, however, would change the constitution to allow Illinois lawmakers far more leeway in raising and instituting income taxes on a range of taxpayers.
Proponents of the amendment say it will be used to levy special so-called “progressive” income taxes on upper income taxpayers, specifically those earning more than $250,000 annually.
Opponents, including the Illinois Policy Institute, however, argue the amendment would place no limits on the ability of lawmakers to raise and create new taxes, potentially to include new taxes on retirement income.
To win, the amendment must secure at least 60% of the votes cast on the question, or approval of more than 50% of all ballots cast in the election.
The lawsuit does not seek to remove the ballot question, or to require new ballots to be printed.
Rather, the lawsuit takes aim at the language included on the ballot describing the amendment, as well as an informational pamphlet distributed to voters concerning the amendment.
The lawsuit asserts that language went far beyond merely informing voters, to actively persuading them to vote for the measure. The language includes allegedly misleading claims that the amendment would only “enact a new tax structure where only those making above $250,000 a year will see their taxes go up.”
Further, the ballot language and pamphlets allegedly mislead voters by telling them the tax would raise revenue to be used to lower their tax burden and fund education and human services.
Nothing in the amendment limits the new tax increases to only high income earners, nor does it dictate how the money would need to be spent, the Illinois Policy Institute said.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Jack Vrett, of Honigman LLP, of Chicago.