Illinois Democrats Go All-In On Class Warfare Theme
From the Chicago Tribune
Illinois Democrats went all-in Thursday with their election-year class warfare theme as Speaker Michael Madigan pitched the idea of asking voters to raise taxes on millionaires, Senate President John Cullerton advanced a minimum-wage increase and Gov. Pat Quinn compared wealthy opponent Bruce Rauner to TV villain Mr. Burns.
The moves continued a Democratic push to highlight income inequity that started Tuesday night before Rauner had even claimed his narrow victory in the Republican primary for governor. Rauner and Republican legislative leaders have countered by accusing Democrats of being tax happy and trying to drive a wedge between the rich and poor.
The newest front in the campaign battle came as Madigan held a rare news conference to announce he wants lawmakers to put a question on the Nov. 4 ballot asking voters whether the state should raise the income tax by 3 percentage points on those who make more than $1 million a year.
The powerful Democratic speaker said the tax hike on millionaires is a way to generate more than $1 billion for elementary and high schools. Madigan based his calculations on what he said are roughly 13,675 millionaires that lived in Illinois in 2011, brushing aside a question about whether such a tax hike might drive them out of the state.
“Well, if they’re in Illinois today, they’re probably so much in love with Illinois that they’re not going to leave,” Madigan said. “We’ve done this because we feel that the millionaires in Illinois are the ones that are better equipped to support education than others.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Illinois Democrats went all-in Thursday with their election-year class warfare theme as Speaker Michael Madigan pitched the idea of asking voters to raise taxes on millionaires, Senate President John Cullerton advanced a minimum-wage increase and Gov. Pat Quinn compared wealthy opponent Bruce Rauner to TV villain Mr. Burns.
The moves continued a Democratic push to highlight income inequity that started Tuesday night before Rauner had even claimed his narrow victory in the Republican primary for governor. Rauner and Republican legislative leaders have countered by accusing Democrats of being tax happy and trying to drive a wedge between the rich and poor.
The newest front in the campaign battle came as Madigan held a rare news conference to announce he wants lawmakers to put a question on the Nov. 4 ballot asking voters whether the state should raise the income tax by 3 percentage points on those who make more than $1 million a year.
The powerful Democratic speaker said the tax hike on millionaires is a way to generate more than $1 billion for elementary and high schools. Madigan based his calculations on what he said are roughly 13,675 millionaires that lived in Illinois in 2011, brushing aside a question about whether such a tax hike might drive them out of the state.
“Well, if they’re in Illinois today, they’re probably so much in love with Illinois that they’re not going to leave,” Madigan said. “We’ve done this because we feel that the millionaires in Illinois are the ones that are better equipped to support education than others.
Read more in our daily News Update...