Skip to content
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Subscribe FREE to Ray Hanania’s Columns
  • Advertise
Suburban Chicagoland

Suburban Chicagoland

Original News, Features & Opinion

  • About
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Our Writers
      • Ray Hanania
      • Bill Lipinski
      • Aaron Hanania
      • Steve Metsch
      • Steve Neuhaus
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reach Out
    • Submit a Press Release
  • Sections
    • Events
    • Opinion
    • News
    • Features
    • Seniors
    • Comic Strip
  • Library
    • “MIdnight Flight” Online Book
      • Midnight Flight Book Overview
      • Midnight Flight Introduction
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 1
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 2
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 3
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 4
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 5
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 6
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 7
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 8
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 9
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 10
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 11
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 12
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 13
    • Villages, Cities & Towns
    • Federal Office Holders
    • County Officials
    • Legislators
  • Seniors
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Comment
  • Podcast
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
  • Hanania on Tiktok
  • Toggle search form
  • State Rep. Cyril Nichols
    Arab Americans oppose “MENA” bill and urge “ARAB” be recognized as an MBE and in Census Census
  • Town President Larry Dominick and the Cicero Senior Center hosted the annual Hearts and Shamrocks luncheon. Cicero's senior services program is one of the most extensive in the Midwest offering an array of services including lawn cutting, snow shoveling, handiman assistance, transportation and a range of healthcare services. For more information visit www.TheTownofCicero.com
    The Town of Cicero Senior Center hosted the annual Hearts & Shamrocks dance Baby Boomers
  • Harlem Avenue closed from 86th and 87th pending investigation of pedestrian struck by vehicle News
  • Jeffery M. Leving fights for your rights
    Court orders ex to provide transportation so Dad can see his daughter Civil Rights
  • Brandon Johnson leads a protest demanding to defund the Police. Phot courtesy of the Vallas for Mayor Campaign
    Johnson Refuses to Answer Whether He Would Pursue Stricter Penalties for Repeat Gun Offenders At WGN Debate  Chicago
  • Orland Fire Protection District extinguish fire in apartment building at 144th and Ravinia Sunday Jan. 30, 2022
    One fatality in Orland Hills Home fire Cook County
  • Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau continues to lie and slander people Blogger
  • Writing my very first news story that ran in the Messenger Press Baby Boomers
  • Illinois State Senator Michael Hastings. Photo courtesy of the Illinois State Senate
    Senator Michael Hastings supports bill to protect consumers from pesky auto-renewal charges Features
  • Major League Rugby 2023 Championship to take place at SeatGeek Stadium July 8
    Major League Rugby 2023 Championship to take place at SeatGeek Stadium July 8 Entertainment
  • Paul Vallas candidate for Chicago Mayor 2023. Photo courtesy of the Paul Vallas website
    Paul Vallas calls out Johnson’s lies walking back calls to defund and undermine police Chicago
  • Jeffery M. Leving fights for your rights
    Psychological support for divorcing dads topic of CLE at Leving firm Chicago
  • Ronette McCarthy, a candidate for Mayor of Palos Park, addresses the Palos Park Village Board on the issue of expanding Wu's House parking into land adjacent to the huge restaurant on the east.
    Whoa is Wu’s House in Palos Park Blogger
  • Pekau campaign signs violate village ordinances News
  • Rotary Club of Orland Park Logo
    Orland Park Rotary offering scholarships to graduating seniors Education
money $20 dollar bill, dollars, cash

J.B. Pritzker’s income tax shell game

Posted on May 1, 2019November 29, 2019 By Ray Hanania No Comments on J.B. Pritzker’s income tax shell game
SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  

Loading

J.B. Pritzker’s income tax shell game

Once again, Pritzker thinks money will not only buy him into statewide office but it will also pull the wool over the eyes of Illinois taxpayers. Pritzker’s new income tax plan changes the flat tax to a graduated tax that would open the door to significant tax increases on the middle class down the road. The tax plan is not a new idea but one hoisted on taxpayers by its original creator Dan Hynes, who lost the race for governor in 2010. Hynes is pulling the strings in the Pritzker administration.

By Ray Hanania

Gov. J.B. Pritzker must think the public is stupid. I’ve been watching his heavily financed TV advertising campaign which falsely claims Illinois has the “worst” income tax system in the country.

No Governor. We’re not stupid. Illinois doesn’t have the worst “income tax” system in the country. Illinois has the worst “tax system” in the country. Illinois ranks 49 out of 50 when it comes to taxation. The truth is you are making it worse by changing the system so you can raise taxes on the middle class down the road.

Illinois has a $3.25 billion budget deficit, not because it hasn’t collected more than enough taxes to cover the state’s obligations, but because the state continues to increase pensions for patronage workers, retiring politicians, powerful unions, and their cronies.

Any plan that fails to address the state pension crisis is nothing more than another shell-game. Pritzker’s plan fails to address the pension problem.

money $20 dollar bill, dollars, cash

The real purpose is to throw out the “flat tax” and replace it with a “graduated income tax system” that can be adjusted later with “small increases” on the middle class. Pritzker is also proposing new tax hikes his TV Ads don’t address – the TV ads are financed by Pritzker’s Ddark PAC group, “Think Big Illinois.”

Pritzker’s plan to change the “flat income tax” system to a “graduated income tax system” is misleading. Right now, the 4.95 percent “flat tax” IS the fairest system. Pritzker wants you to think the flat tax treats the rich and the poor differently. That’s not true.

Do the math – oh yea, most people in Illinois can’t do math because our school system has sucked for the past four decades. Illinois has catered to the needs of teachers and union wages over the needs of students.

Currently under the Flat Tax system, a person making $1 million pays $49,500 in taxes while a person making $100,000 pays $4,950. Pritzker thinks that if he pours enough money into misleading TV Ads, he can convince us $50,000 is the same as $5,000. It’s the same logic they use to increase sales taxes!

The real purpose is down the line. By replacing the state constituted “flat tax” with a “graduated tax,” Pritzker is setting us up for a series of “small increases” later down the road that will target the middle class.

Under a “flat tax,” you can’t target anyone with small increases. Under the Pritzker “Fair Tax” you can.

Four years from now, they will say 4.95 isn’t enough and raise it “only slightly” to 5.5 percent. Then 5.8 percent. Then 6 percent. Then 6.5 percent. They can keep it low on the poor that way. Who will complain if they hike the new graduated tax in tiny steps to “save” transportation, education, healthcare, or whatever excuse they will promise but not deliver on?

Pritzker has surrounded himself with tax-and-spend politicians like former Comptroller Dan Hynes who has been advocating eliminating the “flat tax” for the “graduated tax” for years.

What Pritzker and Hynes are doing is kicking the can down the road, setting up a system in which they can water torture us to death with “small” income tax increases down the road.

Remember when they increased the flat tax from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent in July 2017 — a massive 32 percent increase in income tax collections. (The 3.75 tax went up 1.2 to 4.95 tax.) They initially suggested it would be temporary. Temporary my ass! They knew all along it would be “permanent.”

The worst part is while Pritzker has us focused on his “Fair Tax” — it’s not fair at all as I have explained – he is hoping we don’t notice the massive “Soda Pop” taxes he is slipping in through the side door.

Pritzker is proposing a massive hike in the state gasoline tax. He’s planning a whopping 7 cent tax on plastic bags used in retail stores (whether you use a plastic bag or not). He’s going to tax streaming movie services like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video. He’s planning “sin tax” hikes on cigarettes and sports betting.

Worse, Pritzker wants to tax all financial transactions – which impacts your banking fees, stocks and retirement savings.

Pritzker isn’t running Ads to promote the plastic bag tax, the massive gas tax hike, or the new streaming movie tax!

By the time Pritzker and Hynes are done with us, we won’t have any money left to tax.

(Ray Hanania is an award-winning political columnist and former Chicago City Hall reporter. Ray writes on every topic under the sun in his weekly opinion columns. He also hosts two podcasts, one on Middle East issues at www.TheArabStreet.org and one of Chicagoland and mainstream politics at www.RayHananiaonPolitics.com. His podcasts are available on iTunes, Spotify and most major podcast carriers. Email him at rghanania@gmail.com.)

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.

Follow RayHanania on Gettr.com, the uncensored Twitter Ray Hanania on Gettr, the new Twitter
Ray Hanania
Latest posts by Ray Hanania (see all)
  • The Town of Cicero Senior Center hosted the annual Hearts & Shamrocks dance - March 25, 2023
  • Harlem Avenue closed from 86th and 87th pending investigation of pedestrian struck by vehicle - March 24, 2023
  • Court orders ex to provide transportation so Dad can see his daughter - March 23, 2023
  • Tweet

SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  
 
 
 
           
Blogger, Chicago, Commentary, elections, General Topics, Government, Illinois Legislature, Obituary, Opinion, Politics, rayhanania, Taxes Tags:Dan Hynes, flat tax, gasoline tax, Governor, graduated income tax, Illinois worst state for taxes, J.B. Pritzker, Pat Quinn, tax hike, tax hikes, tax on plastic bags

Post navigation

Previous Post: Pappas: Last chance for homeowners to pay delinquent taxes
Next Post: Wolves seize Game 1 in Overtime over Iowa

Related Posts

  • 3rd Congressional District Congresswoman Marie Newman
    Congresswoman Newman announces $70 million in grants to seven Health Centers Chicago
  • Chicago Mayoral Candidate Jerry Joyce with his family.
    Great choices showcase Chicago’s mayoral election Blogger
  • Chicago Wolves take Game 3 for 2nd win in the Calder Cup Finals 2022 over Springfield Thunderbirds.
    Chicago Wolves seize Calder Cup Finals lead over Springfield Thunderbirds Chicago
  • Illinois Senator Michael Hastings joins Orland Fire Protection District Chief Michael Schofield and Fire DIstrict Battalion chiefs including Nick Cinquepalmi to details the $610,000 state grant that will help enhance the regions 911 emergency response at a press conference Thursday Oct. 20, 2022
    Senator Hastings presents $610,000 state grant to Orland Fire to enhance regional 911 emergency system Fire
  • Chicago Mayoral candidate Kam Buckner 2023
    Kam Buckner slams Mayor Lightfoot for ethical violations and pushing CPS to support her candidacy Chicago
  • Keith Pekau, former landscaper and accidental Orland Park Mayor. Photo from the Village of Orland Park
    Orland Park challenge to Pritzker restrictions stumbles Blogger

More Related Articles

Chicago ALderman Raymond Lopez announces his candidacy for Mayor of Chicago on Wednesday April 6, 2022. Photo courtesy of Ray Lopez announcement video Raymond Lopez says 500th Chicago murder unacceptable fir America’s 3rd largest city Chicago
McLaughlin responds to public calls to open Police Center at Orland mall Cook County
Ray Hanania The verdict on Jury Duty in Cook County Blogger
Scene from What We Do in the Shadows, the FX vampire comedy series streamable from Hulu. FX TV Series on funny vampires is a real entertainment bite Comedy
Christopher J. McGuire, Oak Forest. Mugshot courtesy of the Lyons Police Department Lyons police arrest alleged drunk driving offender after he crashes into Brookfield Zoo breaking news
Gov. JB Pritzker campaigns in Hodgkins, Illinois. Nov. 3, 2022. Photo courtesy of the Desplaines Valley News No town too small, Pritzker visits Southwest suburbs elections

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with your Social ID
  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau continues to lie and slander people
    March 21, 2023
  • Writing my very first news story that ran in the Messenger Press
    March 19, 2023
  • Ronette McCarthy, a candidate for Mayor of Palos Park, addresses the Palos Park Village Board on the issue of expanding Wu's House parking into land adjacent to the huge restaurant on the east.
    Whoa is Wu’s House in Palos Park
    March 14, 2023
  • Foxx policies punish police rather than the criminals
    March 8, 2023
  • Pekau silences accountability to expand his political power
    February 27, 2023
  • Terrorist Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin who is guilty of massacring civilians in his war against Ukraine. Photo credit Wikipedia
    America should stand with Ukraine and set aside internal politics
    February 24, 2023

Subscribe

  • Ray-Hanania-Newsletter-300-wide-Banner.jpg

Trending

  • Ronette McCarthy, a candidate for Mayor of Palos Park, addresses the Palos Park Village Board on the issue of expanding Wu's House parking into land adjacent to the huge restaurant on the east. Whoa is Wu’s House... Whoa is Wu's House in Palos Park Residents in Palos Park thought they had t... posted on March 14, 2023
  • Harlem Avenue closed from... Harlem Avenue closed from 86th and 87th pending investigation of pedestrian... posted on March 24, 2023
  • Orland Park Mayor Keith P... Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau continues to lie and slander people By Ray Ha... posted on March 21, 2023
  • Brandon Johnson leads a protest demanding to defund the Police. Phot courtesy of the Vallas for Mayor Campaign Johnson Refuses to Answer... Johnson Refuses to Answer Whether He Would Pursue Stricter Penalties for Re... posted on March 22, 2023
  • Pekau campaign signs viol... Pekau campaign signs violate village ordinances Pekau and his endorsed cand... posted on March 13, 2023
  • NEWS
  • State Rep. Cyril Nichols
    Arab Americans oppose “MENA” bill and urge “ARAB” be recognized as an MBE and in Census
    March 25, 2023
  • Town President Larry Dominick and the Cicero Senior Center hosted the annual Hearts and Shamrocks luncheon. Cicero's senior services program is one of the most extensive in the Midwest offering an array of services including lawn cutting, snow shoveling, handiman assistance, transportation and a range of healthcare services. For more information visit www.TheTownofCicero.com
    The Town of Cicero Senior Center hosted the annual Hearts & Shamrocks dance
    March 25, 2023
  • Harlem Avenue closed from 86th and 87th pending investigation of pedestrian struck by vehicle
    March 24, 2023
  • Jeffery M. Leving fights for your rights
    Court orders ex to provide transportation so Dad can see his daughter
    March 23, 2023
  • Brandon Johnson leads a protest demanding to defund the Police. Phot courtesy of the Vallas for Mayor Campaign
    Johnson Refuses to Answer Whether He Would Pursue Stricter Penalties for Repeat Gun Offenders At WGN Debate 
    March 22, 2023
  • Orland Fire Protection District extinguish fire in apartment building at 144th and Ravinia Sunday Jan. 30, 2022
    One fatality in Orland Hills Home fire
    March 22, 2023
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png

The Political Pundit

Political Pundit Aug. 24, 2021. Taliban thanks president for boxes of MAGA hats
  • WORD PRESS REVIEWS
  • MyCloud by Western Digital, a hard drive that doesn't last. Don't purchase Western Digital.
    Western Digital tubes its loyal customers for profit
    October 17, 2021
  • Macho Themes website front page. Don't buy their themes. They don't work
    Difficulties with Macho Themes for WordPress
    August 21, 2021
  • TECHNOLOGY REVIEWS
  • Illinois State Senator Michael Hastings. Photo courtesy of the Illinois State Senate
    Senator Michael Hastings supports bill to protect consumers from pesky auto-renewal charges
    March 18, 2023
  • Wreaths Across America Radio logo
    Wreaths Across America Radio Announces New Strategic Partnerships with Veteran Radio Programs
    February 6, 2023
  • Dr. Helen Edwards Fermilab particle physicist
    Foster, Durbin, Duckworth introduce resolution to name Fermilab Research Center after renowned physicist Dr. Helen Edwards
    February 3, 2023

Follow Ray Hanania at
Gab.com, MeWe.com
IDobbinate.com,
Twitter, Facebook

Creative Commons License
All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

First Installment of the Property Tax

What We’re Reading

Arab News Newspaper Leading English Language Publication in the GulfArab News Newspaper

Ray Hanania on Politics
SW News Newspaper Group

  • SPORTS
  • Major League Rugby 2023 Championship to take place at SeatGeek Stadium July 8
    Major League Rugby 2023 Championship to take place at SeatGeek Stadium July 8
    March 17, 2023
  • Chicago Wolves 2022-2023 season
    Chicago Wolves top Stars for second win in a row
    October 25, 2022
  • Stagg Marching Band Pit Crew as efficient as a NASCAR pit stop! The team that does a lot of the work to help the Stagg High school band perform works behind the scenes like a NASCAR pit stop. The students are profiled in this feature
    Stagg Marching Band Pit Crew as efficient as a NASCAR pit stop!
    August 31, 2022
  • Soccer. Photo by Md Mahdi on Unsplash
    International soccer returns to SeatGeek Stadium
    August 7, 2022
  • NEWS RELEASES
  • State Rep. Cyril Nichols
    Arab Americans oppose “MENA” bill and urge “ARAB” be recognized as an MBE and in Census
    March 25, 2023
  • Town President Larry Dominick and the Cicero Senior Center hosted the annual Hearts and Shamrocks luncheon. Cicero's senior services program is one of the most extensive in the Midwest offering an array of services including lawn cutting, snow shoveling, handiman assistance, transportation and a range of healthcare services. For more information visit www.TheTownofCicero.com
    The Town of Cicero Senior Center hosted the annual Hearts & Shamrocks dance
    March 25, 2023
  • Jeffery M. Leving fights for your rights
    Psychological support for divorcing dads topic of CLE at Leving firm
    March 14, 2023
  • Tony Award Winner Robert Falls returns to Goodman Theatre to direct his adaptation of "The Cherry Orchard" Photo courtesy Goodman Theatre
    Tony Award Winner Robert Falls returns to Goodman Theatre to direct his adaptation of “The Cherry Orchard”
    March 6, 2023
  • Popular Ziyad Brand Green Za'ater. Photo courtesy of Ziyad Brothers
    Ziyad Brothers reports that the appeal of Mediterranean foods continues to rise among consumers
    February 16, 2023
John Kass Columns

Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications

  • BUSINESS NEWS
  • Ronette McCarthy, a candidate for Mayor of Palos Park, addresses the Palos Park Village Board on the issue of expanding Wu's House parking into land adjacent to the huge restaurant on the east.
    Whoa is Wu’s House in Palos Park
    March 14, 2023
  • Popular Ziyad Brand Green Za'ater. Photo courtesy of Ziyad Brothers
    Ziyad Brothers reports that the appeal of Mediterranean foods continues to rise among consumers
    February 16, 2023
  • Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar
    Cook County Announces Call for Transportation and Community Grant Program Applications
    January 23, 2023
  • money $20 dollar bill, dollars, cash
    Buckner unveils plan to help businesses and strengthen job
    January 19, 2023

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Click this link to watch or use the widget below:

Click here to view the video on YouTube or use the widget below.
Email Ray Hanania for more information about performing at your event at rghanania@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group

Powered by PressBook Premium theme