LEADING THE WAY FOR ILLINOISIANS VOICE TO ILLINOIS POLITICS It’s not easy to defeat a status quo system that has been in place for decades. But that’s exactly what we’re doing at the Illinois Policy Institute. Entrenched politicians—like Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan—have rigged our state’s political system to benefit themselves and their special interests. They’ve prospered, while the rest of the state has suffered. We’re building a movement to counter this, and we’re gaining momentum. In 2020, we: • Revealed the truth about the “fair tax:” Governor JB Pritzker tried to replace Illinois’ fair, flat tax with a progressive income tax. We showed how his proposed tax would hurt all Illinoisans, including retirees. We also revealed how the proposal would give lawmakers free rein to change tax rates however and whenever they wanted. In the end, voters rejected the “fair tax” decisively. • Highlighted Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s corruption: For years, we’ve relentlessly reported on corruption in the Prairie State, especially as it concerns Madigan. We’ve made Madigan a household name in Illinois, making known his overwhelming power over Illinois politics. This effort is now paying off. As of today, 19 House Democrats have announced they will not support Madigan’s reelection as Speaker of the House. That means Madigan is currently five votes below what he needs to win another term as Speaker. • Made the case for constitutional pension reform: With the defeat of the progressive tax, state lawmakers are now forced to make a choice in dealing with Illinois’ fiscal crisis. They can continue cutting core services for Illinoisans in need or they can address the skyrocketing public pension costs. This year, we let the charge in making the case that constitutional pension reform is the only sensible solution. All this was made possible by the support of thousands of Illinoisans like you. CEO of Illinois Policy Institute John Tillman Page 10
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