Not yet ready to back graduated tax

Allison Haut is president of the League of Women Voters of Illinois. In her April 15 Guest View, she makes some reasonable points in support of Gov. Pritzker's proposed graduated tax amendment. However, she totally ignores the concept of cost savings and the fact that that this is Illinois, where every new revenue dollar goes in search of a place to spend it.

I have new respect for Gov. Pritzger because of his performance (along with that of Chicago Mayor Lightfoot) in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, although his administration should have anticipated the ballooning of unemployment compensation requests.

Prior to now, I couldn't get beyond the disappearance of toilets in the mansion to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes.

Perhaps Haut's whole piece can be summed up in her, "Fair tax reform will lift the burden from the middle class and those struggling to get to the middle class."

There is no protection from tax increases for the middle class in the proposed amendment. I won't consider the sincerity of the governor's tax amendment until I see it accompanied on the ballot with proposed amendments for fair maps and pension reform.

Jim Osebold

Arlington Heights