Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HJR0018

HJ0018 LRB104 12575 ECR 23110 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The investments that the State of Illinois makes in communities through programs and services funded in the state budget are vitally important in helping ensure all Illinois families can thrive; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois' ability to fund programs and services is now under threat from the federal government as President Donald Trump and senior advisor Elon Musk are unlawfully moving to unilaterally stop federal funding and are pushing for deep budgetary cuts in order to slash taxes again for the richest Americans, including Elon Musk; and

WHEREAS, These federal changes will be devastating for millions of Illinoisans in a multitude of ways as they will mean deep cuts to the roughly $34 billion Illinois receives annually from the federal government for a range of programs and services, such as health coverage for three million Illinoisans through Medicaid, food assistance programs for families, and services to support the State's public transit system; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly has the power to meaningfully protect Illinoisans from the Trump administration's plans to make deadly cuts to federal investments in the health and well-being of our communities and the planet; and

WHEREAS, Since the unsuccessful fair tax amendment in 2020, funding essential programs and services in the State budget has become increasingly difficult; Illinois has not had a major increase in state revenue since and continues to experience a significant revenue shortfall; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has the eighth most unequal state and local tax system in the nation and the most unequal of all states in the Midwest with the lowest-income 20% of households paying twice the portion of their incomes as compared with the top 1%; and

WHEREAS, Illinois' corporate income tax policies contain many loopholes that allow multinational corporations to avoid paying taxes by hiding their vast profits; and

WHEREAS, Income and wealth inequality in the United States have reached record levels with Illinois having the most severe income inequality of all states in the Midwest and with corporate profitability reaching an all-time high last year; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois plays an important role in ensuring racial, gender, and immigrant justice; and

WHEREAS, Illinois must work to ensure fairness and opportunity for all Illinoisans regardless of their race, gender, or where they come from; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the State of Illinois to make needed investments in Illinois communities by raising $6 billion in new revenue from the ultra-wealthy and mega-corporations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge revenue policies, such as raising the corporate income tax, closing corporate tax loopholes and taxing corporate offshore sheltered income, closing the carried interest loophole, and taxing data extraction by big tech corporations, should be used to fund priorities, such as strengthening public transit operations, supporting immigrant communities by fully funding immigrant services, protecting healthcare access for all, fully funding public schools in every community, supporting senior home care, and improving the child tax credit program, the direct cash assistance, re-entry employment programs, violence prevention programs, and affordable housing opportunities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm that, in addition to funding these critically-needed services, implementing these revenue policies will have the benefit of making our State's tax system less unfair to the lowest income Illinoisans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to Governor JB Pritzker.