The real reason Illinoisans said no to the graduated tax

In his recent op-ed titled "Why didn't Illinoisans pass the fair tax?," Ralph Martire has it backward. Clearly, voters did follow the money, just not the money he suggests. Instead, voters saw through the $52 million campaign funded by the governor's investment that promoted a tax scheme that would have purportedly only taxed "the wealthy."

In killing the graduated income tax proposal by overwhelming margins, voters figured out those income brackets and tax rates were only temporary and that the State's grubby revenue claws would have eventually made their way into lower income brackets.

Illinois Senate Republicans attempted to control Springfield's greed by proposing a measure (Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 12) that would have required a two-thirds supermajority vote in the legislature to raise taxes in the future, rather than just a simple majority. But to no surprise, Democrats were not open to that suggestion.

The lack of consideration for this measure just goes to show that the governor and Democrats had no intention in keeping the approved tax brackets and rates fixed. They wanted to make it as easy as possible to dip down into lower incomes for more money, and Illinoisans didn't fall for it.

Illinois voters sent a clear message to the governor this election: they don't trust legislators in Springfield with additional taxing powers, and they want to see legislators enacting structural reforms before they offer up more money.

Proponents of the graduated income tax tried to argue that increasing available revenue would solve all of Illinois' problems. But Illinoisans know that line all too well. Back in 2017, an income tax hike increased revenues by approximately $5 billion, yet that didn't solve our problems. Voters aren't ignorant, they know that the $3.6 billion that was expected from the graduated income tax wouldn't have solved the issues the state faces either.

Much of the lack of income is a direct result of the inordinate amount of money being spent to cover principal, interest and mandatory payments such as the $2 billion the governor just borrowed from the U.S. Treasury that has to be paid back in 36 months. That's on top of the $140 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and an accounts payable debt liability that is nearly $8 billion and rising.

Illinois voters are to be commended, Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike, who were astute enough to see through the shell game that was being played on television screens across our state. They understand that common fiscal sense, the basic understanding of a balance sheet and the willingness to address the real problems dragging Illinois deeper into a fiscal abyss must be addressed first before asking them for more money.

• Illinois Sen. Don DeWitte is a Republican from St. Charles and a member of the Senate Revenue Committee.