SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Republican Party claimed victory Tuesday night in its opposition to a ballot measure that would have changed the state from a flat tax to a graduated income tax.
Advocates of the measure, however, said they planned to wait until every vote was counted. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who campaigned on switching to a graduated tax, said earlier Tuesday that the outstanding number of mail-in ballots meant the results might not be available on election night.
With 92% of 10,455 precincts reporting, there were 2,095,965 votes in favor of the measure and 2,576,237 against it — 55% to 45%.
The question on the ballot would amend the Illinois Constitution, which requires that income be taxed at a flat rate. It’s currently at 4.95% for individual payers.
Approving an amendment to the Illinois Constitution requires three-fifths majority approval, or 60%, of all who vote on the question.
Pritzker has said he could raise $3 billion extra a year while not imposing higher taxes on 97% of taxpayers. The federal government and 32 other states use a graduated structure.
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider on Tuesday celebrated the results, as well as what he said were wins in judicial races involving Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride and Democratic Appellate Justice Judy Cates.
Schneider in a statement pointed to those candidates’ connections with House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. A House committee has been investigating into alleged misconduct by Madigan and a decades-long bribery scheme.
“The Illinois Republican Party and our allies are putting everyone on notice, regardless of office: if you align yourself with and take money from one of the most corrupt machine politicians in the country, we are coming for you. From the legislative branch to the judicial branch, we must eliminate all Madigan loyalists and the scourge of corruption that they actively enable,” he said.
John Bouman, chair of the Vote Yes for Fair Tax campaign, said the outcome would not be known until “every ballot cast is counted,” which could take days.
Election night results are always unofficial, but the volume of mail-in ballots this year means it may take longer for some races to be decided. The Illinois State Board of Elections will certify the results from local election officials on Dec. 4.
Pritzker has warned that if the amendment fails, the state faces a general flat-tax increase, 15% across the board cuts in state spending, or other extreme measures.
Critics, who have nearly matched the $50 million in spending on ads that billionaire Pritzker put up in favor of the plan, said it is simply a blank check for free-spending Democrats and won’t be used to pay down debt.
The state has had a pile of overdue bills to vendors and service providers for years, which currently stands at more than $8 billion. Its five pension programs are underfunded by more than $130 billion and the current state budget spends $5 billion more than it takes in because lawmakers were counting on a second COVID-19 relief grant, which Congress has yet to approve.
At his daily COVID-19 briefing Tuesday afternoon, Pritzker said he was optimistic but not sure results would be known quickly, due to the number of outstanding mail-in ballots.
“As I’ve said many times before, the options for Illinois without the fair tax are not good,” he said, noting that one option would be to raise revenue “on a very regressive basis” by raising the flat tax.
He said cuts could lead to reductions in public safety, education and human services dollars by up to 15% “exactly at a moment when people need these things most.”
“And so, the alternatives are not good. That’s why I proposed a third way, I didn’t think that either one of those seemed like a good idea,” Pritzker said.
Capitol News Illinois contributed to this story.
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