Illinois voters approved of the Property Tax Relief and Fairness advisory referendum, which asked voters if the state should implement a 3% tax on income greater than $1,000,000, dedicating those funds for property tax relief.
Over 78% of the votes were counted as of 11:39 p.m. Tuesday night, with 72.6% of voters supporting the referendum, according to data from The Associated Press. The Associated Press called the race at about 11:39 p.m.
The referendum is the second of three advisory questions on the ballot for Illinois voters this Election Day, which appeared for the first time in a decade.
These advisory questions are non-binding, meaning the outcomes have no legal effect. They gauge the thoughts of Illinois voters to help inform legislators on their decisions in the future, according to Illinois Policy.
The referendum is supported by former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who said the property tax relief could impact 3 million properties and generate $4.5 billion in revenue, according to an estimate from the Illinois Department of Revenue.
“The property tax burden seems to be increasing, so the question really is, ‘How can you address that?’” State Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) said. “This advisory referendum indicates whether you would be in favor of a surcharge above income of a million dollars in order to provide property tax relief.”
Illinois polls closed at 7 p.m.
The support for the second referendum means state officials will be advised to amend the Illinois State Constitution to raise the income tax.
“These are advisory referendums — they don’t have the force of law behind them,” Hoffman said. “Once those results are tabulated, and you can see if the people in Illinois would like to have these issues addressed, then you need to go about the process of writing language, having it heard in committee, potentially calling it on the House or the Senate floor and getting the governor to sign it. It’s a process that can go quickly or take much more time if it gets more complicated.”
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
X: @cassiesunL
Related Stories:
— Illinois to vote on three advisory referenda: elections, taxes, IVF
— Political misinformation can decrease voter turnout in local elections, local experts warn
