Cook County votes to give opinion on statewide millionaire tax

(Editor’s Note: Alex Harrison reported this story for Evanston RoundTable, a neighboring independent newsroom. It was shared with The Record as part of an ongoing collaborative effort.)

The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously earlier this month to add an advisory referendum to the county’s Nov. 3 general election ballot gauging support for a statewide millionaire tax.

County Commissioner Donna Miller (D-6th District) introduced the referendum resolution on July 8 and announced its passage Thursday through her congressional campaign. She wrote that the question is intended to let voters “send a clear message” to state legislators on their support for a new income tax on incomes above $1 million, which would require passing a constitutional amendment in the future.

“People are tired of being told to choose between affordable property taxes and well-funded public schools,” Miller wrote. “We can deliver both when we are willing to ask everyone to pay their fair share.”

The November ballot question will specifically gauge voters’ support for HJRCA0021, a state constitutional amendment proposal introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives in October 2025. The Illinois constitution mandates a flat state income tax, meaning all income levels must be taxed at the same rate instead of at graduated rates that increase for higher incomes, as are used by most states and the federal government.

The text of the advisory referendum that will be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot is:

“Shall Illinois adopt the Millionaire Amendment for Property Tax Relief and Education, which would enact a 3% income tax surcharge only on millionaires and use 50% of this new revenue to provide property tax relief for residential and commercial taxpayers and 50% to improve state funding for public education?”

The proposed amendment would levy a 3% tax on all individual income above $1 million per year, yielding approximately $4 billion a year in new revenue, and split these funds evenly, with one half “used to provide property tax relief” and the other half “distributed to school districts solely on a per pupil basis.”

Commissioner Josina Morita, whose 13th District includes Skokie, affirmed her support for the referendum in an email to the RoundTable “As local governments struggle with budget challenges from federal cuts and attacks on crucial programs and vulnerable communities, it is crucial that the voice of voters be heard,” Morita wrote.

Former Gov. Pat Quinn backed putting the same referendum on Chicago’s ballot, an effort the City Council recently rejected.

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