Amendment 1 narrowly clears voter threshold to become law
Amendment 1 is now included in the Illinois Constitution after the State Board of Elections certified the Nov. 8 election results.
The Illinois State Board of Elections certified the November election results Dec. 5, adding the proposed Amendment 1 to the Illinois Constitution.
Constitutional Amendments require either a simple majority of those voting on the question or the approval of 60% of all voters in the election.
Amendment 1 failed to reach the 60% threshold but passed with a simple majority voting “yes” of all who voted on the question.
Illinois Policy Institute President Matt Paprocki said taxpayers need to guard against tax increases and demand property tax reform.
“The State Board of Elections has certified Amendment 1 attained just enough votes to pass. Despite the outcome, it gives me hope to see how many Illinoisans were willing to stand up against special interest lobbyists and government union bosses. These special interests claimed Amendment 1 had nothing to do with taxes. Now we have to hold them to their word.” Paprocki said.
Here’s what Amendment 1 does:
- Prevents commonsense, good-government reforms to use taxpayer dollars more efficiently – and potentially overturns more than 350 existing Illinois laws, including those that protect children.
- Grants government union bosses more power than those in any other state, by far.
- Locks in higher taxes and debt in Illinois, including an estimated $4 billion total property tax hike over the next four years on businesses, homeowners, farmers and more.
- Worsens Illinois’ reputation as one of the least friendly states in the nation for small businesses.
- Keeps more families out of school by allowing collective bargaining negotiations and strikes over a new, broad set of terms such as affordable housing.
Unless lawmakers make property tax relief a high priority in Springfield, Illinois is locked into a 5-year streak of having the nation’s No. 2 property tax rate, which is double the national average.