Illinois Millionaires Tax Amendment Faces May 3 Deadline as Democrats Split Over Property Tax Relief vs School Funding

Illinois House Speaker Endorses Millionaires Tax as Lawmakers Rush to May 3 Constitutional Amendment Deadline

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers are racing to meet a May 3 deadline to place a millionaires tax constitutional amendment on the November ballot, but House Democrats remain divided over whether the potential revenue should fund property tax relief, public schools, or a combination of both.

House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch has endorsed the concept of a 3 percent tax on income exceeding $1 million annually. Welch told WBEZ earlier this year that he supports the idea that wealthy residents should contribute more to state coffers. But he declined to pick between two competing constitutional amendment proposals that would put the question before Illinois voters on Nov. 3.

"I'm a big supporter of the fact that those who can pay more should pay more," Welch said in an interview with WBEZ. "If we can come to some type of consensus on how to get it done and where the money should go, I want to be a part of that."

The deadline is critical. Under Illinois law, constitutional amendments must pass by three-fifths of the General Assembly at least six months before the next general election. That means lawmakers have until May 3 to gather the supermajority votes needed to place a millionaires tax on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Two Amendments Offer Different Paths for the Money

State Rep. La Shawn Ford of Chicago and State Rep. Natalie Manley of Joliet have each proposed constitutional amendments that would enshrine the millionaires tax into the Illinois Constitution. Both measures would apply the 3 percent surcharge to net income over $1 million.

Ford's amendment would direct all proceeds from the tax toward property tax relief. Under his proposal, Illinois homeowners would receive $1,500 annual rebates on their property taxes.

Manley's amendment takes a different approach. Her proposal would split the revenue between public schools and property tax relief. Half of the funds would support K-12 education while the other half would go toward property tax rebates.

Neither amendment has reached a floor vote in the House as lawmakers approach the May 3 deadline.

What It Would Cost the Governor

The tax would apply to all Illinois residents earning more than $1 million annually. For Gov. JB Pritzker, that means paying an additional $280,375 under either amendment. Pritzker and his wife, MK Pritzker, reported net income of $10.3 million on their 2024 tax returns.

Pritzker has supported the concept of taxing the wealthy. During a press conference earlier this year, the governor argued that it is fairer for wealthy residents and corporations to pay more than average workers and vulnerable populations.

Pritzker also poured millions of his own money into a 2020 campaign to amend the state constitution to establish a graduated income tax structure, but that effort failed at the ballot box.

A New Study Outlines the Revenue Potential

A new study published by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign estimates the revenue potential of a millionaires tax. Researchers Frank Manzo and Robert Bruno found that a 3 percent surcharge on income over $1 million would generate $3.8 billion in its first full year and could reach $4.2 billion by 2030.

The study explored three spending options:

Option 1 would dedicate all proceeds to property tax relief. Illinois could distribute $1,500 rebates to approximately three million homeowners who claim homestead exemptions. This would cut property tax bills by more than 20 percent by 2030 for those eligible homeowners.

Option 2 would fully fund the state's Evidence-Based Funding formula for K-12 schools. The study found this approach would increase annual state contributions to schools by more than $3 billion. Under current spending trends, achieving school funding adequacy would not occur until 2039. But this plan would accelerate that timeline to 2028.

Option 3 would combine an eight-year school property tax freeze with a ramped-up education funding approach. This would achieve Evidence-Based Funding adequacy by 2035 while reducing property tax bills by nearly 7 percent by 2030.

The Politics of a Populist Pitch

Former Gov. Pat Quinn has emerged as a powerful backer of the Ford amendment. Quinn, who helped lead a similar effort in 2014, told Capitol News Illinois that voters gave lawmakers and the governor clear instruction in 2024 when Illinois voters approved a nonbinding referendum calling for a millionaires tax.

"The voters told the legislature and the governor what the people wanted in 2024," Quinn said. "You don't want to turn your back on the voters and say… especially now where there's an affordability issue all across Illinois."

The Illinois millionaires tax story has been a 12-year saga. Voters approved a nonbinding referendum in November 2014 and again in November 2024, both recommending that the General Assembly impose an additional 3 percent income tax on those making $1 million or more annually.

However, the Democratic-controlled legislature failed to act on these recommendations during three spring legislative sessions.

Property Taxes Remain a Potent Issue

A March analysis by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas found that property tax bills rose at twice the rate of inflation for the past 30 years in Chicago and suburban Cook County. The affordability crisis has become a major campaign issue as Democrats prepared for the March 2026 primaries.

Welch has made property tax relief a centerpiece of the spring legislative session. He argued that a millionaires tax offers a reasonable way to address what he calls an affordability crisis while also paying down the state's pension debt and funding historically underfunded school districts.

"If we give our schools more, maybe we can pass legislation that restricts how high they can raise their property tax levies," Welch said.

Manley echoed that sentiment. She filed her constitutional amendment last year with the goal of making Illinois schools the gold standard while also addressing property tax concerns.

"I want our schools to be the gold standard, and I don't want to leave our schools behind in all of this," Manley said.

Ford, meanwhile, has been working to convince his Democratic caucus leaders that property tax relief alone would have the best impact for families.

The Path Forward Remains Uncertain

Getting a millionaires tax codified into the Illinois Constitution has proven difficult. The Democratic legislature failed to act on similar recommendations despite two voter-approved referendums.

But the political climate has shifted. The study by Manzo and Bruno found that millionaires taxes in other states did not noticeably hurt economic growth or lead to significant outmigration among high earners.

Any scenario would also make Illinois' tax structure less regressive. The state's high property taxes have long frustrated residents across political and geographic lines. School districts make up more than half of a typical property tax bill in Illinois.

The question now is whether House Democrats can overcome their divisions to pass one of the two competing amendments before the May 3 deadline.

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Sources

• House Speaker backs millionaires tax, but Democrats split over how much to devote to property tax relief — WBEZ Chicago: https://www.wbez.org/springfield/2026/04/13/chris-welch-millionaires-illinois-house-democrats-property-tax-relief
• House Speaker backs millionaires tax, but Democrats split over how much to devote to property tax relief — Chicago Sun-Times: https://chicago.suntimes.com/springfield/2026/04/13/chris-welch-millionaires-illinois-house-democrats-property-tax-relief
• Moore: New study lays out case for Illinois millionaires tax — Capitol News Illinois: https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/moore-new-study-lays-out-case-for-illinois-millionaires-tax/
• Millionaire's tax proposal draws mixed reviews as deadline approaches — The Centersquare: https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_4fcb67c3-fbe7-411a-ae5d-606180e08f44.html