Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago | Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki
By Ben Szalinski | Capitol News Illinois
A “millionaire tax” proposal floated in the Illinois House failed to gain enough traction in Springfield this week, making it increasingly unlikely that voters will be asked to approve the measure in November.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, confirmed to reporters on Wednesday night that the constitutional amendment proposed by Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, was not going to be called for a vote this week. The House is not scheduled to be in after Thursday before the May 3 deadline to put constitutional amendments on the November ballot.
“Everyone knows it needs a lot more work,” Welch said. “There were a lot of questions that people had and they deserve to have those answers to those questions.”
Increasing taxes on millionaires was a priority for Welch and many progressives in Springfield, but the speaker said it didn’t have the votes to pass the House. Constitutional amendments require a 71-vote super majority in the chamber and the proposal was deeply unpopular with Republicans, meaning at least 71 of the House’s 78 Democrats would need to push it out to the Senate.
“We were very close, very close,” Welch said. “But close is not enough and we’re committed to getting it right. We’re going to continue to work towards it.”
It could be a few years before lawmakers revisit the concept. The next deadline for approving constitutional amendments is early May 2028, six months ahead of the presidential election.
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