Illinois would have lost an additional 10,577 seniors from 2012 to 2018 if outmigration were as severe as in Connecticut, the last state to enact a progressive income tax.

Taxing retirement income is not a new idea to Illinois politicians, but denying they want to tax seniors is new since that part of the “fair tax” plan slipped out.

The lawsuit challenges the language that will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot asking whether voters want to scrap Illinois’ constitutional flat tax guarantee – opening the door to a retirement tax.

Illinois’ tax code already protects the poor and middle class from paying as high a rate as billionaires, meaning the ‘fair tax’ is really about lawmaker taxing power.

Progressive income tax proponents put factually inaccurate and misleading claims into a constitutionally required pamphlet intended to inform voters about a proposed amendment.

Illinois politicians are already talking about taxing retirees, adding “surcharges” and city income taxes if they can convince voters to abandon the Illinois Constitution’s flat tax protection and give lawmakers greater taxing power.

Pritzker has been pushing hard for a progressive income tax amendment as a way to generate $3.7 billion for state spending.