On Wednesday, May 1 the Illinois Senate moved Illinois closer to a graduated income tax structure, passing a constitutional amendment and several other pieces of legislation. State Senator Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), who voted against the proposal, issued the following statement after the vote:

“I have grave concerns that this push to move Illinois to a graduated income tax structure, without guaranteed protections for middle-income families will only lead to further income tax increases. The Constitutional Amendment was just introduced a few weeks ago, and since then, we have already seen the proposed rates change. With no guarantees in place that middle-income families won’t see their taxes go up in the near future, I voted no. Illinois families cannot afford to give Democrats a blank check.”

SJRCA 1 passed the Senate and will move to the House for further consideration.