Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants you to trust him. He and his fellow Democrats are pushing their “fair tax” proposal on the November ballot. And they promise that if you vote “yes,” they’ll only take from the rich, not the middle class.
They’re spinning the story on video ads that Pritzker is paying for, and in the media. And here’s the spin: If you vote for Pritzker’s “fair tax” amendment, and change the state constitution to abolish the current flat tax, there’s no way they’ll use their new “progressive” tax to reach down into the middle class and grab middle-class money.
No way. They promise. Trust them.
Who wouldn’t trust Pritzker? And just look at House Speaker Michael Madigan, the Democratic Party boss of Illinois, smiling impishly, even with all that federal heat on him and the FBI’s big federal bus rolling back and forth between Springfield and Chicago. Who wouldn’t trust Boss Madigan? Isn’t trust everything?
Some of you want to trust them. I get it. They’re powerful people, and Illinoisans have been trained to bow and scrape before their lords. Besides, I bet that some who believe they’ll only tax the rich also want to believe that someday, they might have tiny purple unicorns as pets.
But the problem is reality — and a series of excellent Chicago Tribune editorials on broken promises from the political class in Springfield.
Read more of John Kass’ column here.
Thank you Observer for so many timely posts
We followJohn Kass and the Trib. Also there is a great summary by the Illinois Policy Institute regarding the “fair tax”
You’re being generous to describe Madigan’s expression as impish ; I have other adjectives. His protege has brought the worst of Springfield to McHenry County. We need to eradicate the political pandemic that has been created..