Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday he will press the General Assembly to approve a graduated income tax before it adjourns in May — with both a constitutional amendment to put before voters and companion legislation setting forth the new tax rates.

 

Pritzker’s ambitious timetable would set the stage for an immediate political showdown in the legislature to be followed by a protracted 17-month public campaign leading up to a November 2020 referendum.

 

In the past, Democratic legislative leaders have insisted they would not consider constitutional amendments in odd-numbered years when no statewide election is held.

 

But Pritzker said both House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton have promised to support his strategy to address the tax issue this spring.

 

“This is the moment where we are going to have to make some hard decisions in the state of Illinois, and I think a graduated income tax is the right decision in the context of the need to overcome a structural deficit and to maintain the services that we need for the people,” Pritzker told the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board.

 

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