House Bill 696 would freeze property taxes across the state. Under the plan, local governments could still increase rates, but only with approval from voters. The bill doesn’t apply to home-rule governments, however. That’s no small exemption: 7.8 million Illinoisans live in a home-rule municipality such Chicago, Naperville or Peoria. This number also doesn’t account for Cook County, which is also home-rule, and would be exempted from this property-tax freeze.

Under Lang’s plan, Illinois’ top tax rate for noncorporate businesses would become 11.25 percent — the second-highest rate in the U.S.

A progressive tax would give Illinois politicians carte blanche to raise rates, which would end up sticking middle-class taxpayers with rates originally intended for “the rich” – all while chasing still more residents and businesses out of the state.