Can anyone sign the A Better Illinois petition?

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1 Can anyone sign the A Better Illinois petition? Yes. Signatures of citizens above 18 years of age, living in the legislator s district and registered to vote, will have the greatest impact. Can the petitions be circulated in school buildings outside of association meetings? Can they be circulated on school grounds? Can I a link to my peers on their work ? From IEA Legal: While the petition is not specifically in support of/or against a candidate for public office or a referendum which will be on the ballot in an upcoming election, you should follow your school/college policies/practices regarding distribution of political materials and solicitation of support for political issues during the school day, on school property and using school facilities and resources. For example, unless prohibited by your employer s policies/practices, you may solicit signatures at school during uncompensated time such as a duty free lunch or at an association after-school meeting. In addition, please do not forward the petition to others through your school district/college system or through use of employer provided computer, ipad or other electronic device, unless distribution of materials regarding political issues is permitted under your school district/college s acceptable use or other similar policies. If you believe that your school/college s policies/practices are discriminatory or you have questions about how to proceed, please contact your UniServ Director. To learn more about employee political activity, please go to the IEA Online Learning Portal ( and view the video on this topic. It is located under the Legal tab of the Course Catalog. Please remember that you must have registered in order to login to the Portal. To do so, go to the following link: Pirate4_15_2013&utm_medium= &utm_term=0_5aa2d57f48-08ecbf We have a large local with many buildings. What s the best way to get my members to sign? Use your existing association representative. Make sure to follow your

2 district s policies on political activity. Hold an association representative meeting and encourage each building s ARs to solicit signatures in their buildings. They can hold a short before/after contractual hours meeting in the building to gather signatures and/or approach members during their duty free lunch. An association list or a website are also good ways to approach members. Remember to tell your ARs to avoid using the employer s system for political activity. Why hasn t A Better Illinois attached a proposed rate structure to its campaign? Making Illinois s tax structure fairer will require a three step approach. 1.Before there can be any discussion of a graduated income tax rate structure, the Illinois General Assembly must pass a bill that places the fair tax amendment on the November 2014 ballot. 2.In order to get the fair tax amendment on the 2014 ballot, the General Assembly must pass the bill prior to May 4 of next year. Discussion of graduated rates will only be wishful thinking until the legislature is convinced to act on placing the fair tax amendment on the ballot. 3.Once we win in the General Assembly, ABI s focus will turn to convincing the citizens of Illinois to vote in favor of amending the Illinois Constitution to allow for a fair (graduated) income tax. After winning in November of 2014, the ABI campaign will turn to the debate of setting the rates. But how can I convince my friends and neighbors to support the ABI campaign if I don t know whether or not they will pay more in income taxes? The goal of the ABI campaign is a more fair tax system. Middle class Illinoisans are already paying more than their fair share in property, sales and sin taxes. At the same time, income for the nation s top 5% of earners has continued to grow while income for the other 95% of Americans has experienced no increase at all. Taxing those in the top 5% (average income of $318,000) at a slightly higher rate makes good economic sense. It is the most fair

3 way for the State of Illinois to pay its debts while protecting priorities such as pre-k-12 public education, higher education, human services, public safety and healthcare. Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability has produced a detailed plan that would reduce the effective income tax rate of 94% of all Illinois residents while raising over $2 billion in additional revenue. Revenue/CTBA%20Graduated%20Income%20Tax%20FINAL%20Report%20 Feb% pdf But won t higher rates hurt small businesses? No. A fair tax system will level the playing field for small businesses. The politicians in Springfield give handouts to big corporations. At the same time, many corporate CEOs take advantage of huge loopholes. Taken together, the deck is stacked already against small businesses trying to compete. The politicians too often raise taxes on the middle class the state s most active customers, the people who support small businesses and are the backbone of our economy. Small business owners know what it will take to grow and rebuild Illinois economy: A strong consumer base increased buying power for middle class customers and for working families who purchase our products and services. New jobs for Illinois to add to the 2.4 million workers employed by small businesses in our state. A safe and modern infrastructure roads and bridges to keep the supply chain moving and to ease the path of consumers to our front doors. An end to politicians massive handouts to huge corporations so small business owners and entrepreneurs can compete on a level playing field. Quality schools to attract new businesses to Illinois and to train Illinois workforce of tomorrow. Won t higher rates force large employers to leave the state?

4 No. Actually, corporations do not list taxes as a high priority when considering location or relocation. The state s transportation infrastructure is important to businesses. Roads, highways, airports and harbors are key components of business success. Businesses also benefit from public services like police and fire protection. A good public school system and an educated work force are also key factors influencing a business s decision to relocate, particularly in this age of technology and electronic commerce. High quality school systems help attract qualified employers. Also, keep in mind that depending on the business high local property tax rates, gasoline taxes or sales taxes may be more burdensome than a higher income tax. Why should I sign the petition if the decision is in the hands of the Illinois politicians in Springfield? I don t trust them with more of my money. While no one will argue that Illinois has had its share of waste and mismanagement in its state government, it is precisely the waste and mismanagement that has our state paying interest to wealthy creditors and penalties to businesses that haven t been paid in over six months. It is time for Illinois citizens to demand that politicians in our state do more than blame someone else for the state s problems. They must set about fixing our state s financial house. Asking the rich and privileged to pay slightly more to pay down our state s debt and fund the state s essential priorities is the road to Illinois s economic recovery. It will be the job of Illinois citizens to hold our politicians accountable for spending our money on the state s essential services. If everyone in Illinois pays 5% in income taxes, why does ABI claim that the rich pay a smaller share than middle class and the poor? 33 states of the 41 states with an income tax and the federal government recognize the fairness of a graduated income tax rate. No income tax states, like Alaska, Texas, Nevada and Florida, rely on tourism and oil tax revenue to fund their state s priorities. Our opponents want you to focus exclusively on the income tax as if income taxes are all that you pay. According the Institute for Taxation and Economic

5 Policy Illinois income earners in the top 1% who make in excess of $445,000 paid only 4.9% of their income to the state for ALL taxes combined. (sales, income, property and excise taxes)(excise taxes are taxes paid on a specific good like gasoline or cigarettes.) Compare the 4.9% rate to families earning $93,000 or less (the bottom 80% of Illinois earners) who pay over 10% of their income in taxes to the State of Illinois. This is why the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy ranks Illinois as the fourth worst state in the nation for tax fairness. Ok, I ve signed the petition. Is there anything else I can do? Their certainly is plenty to do to help create A Better Illinois. If you have local school board members who are willing to join us in publicly supporting A Better Illinois, send their names to your region office. If you would like some help in creating a conversation with your school board members, we can help you with that as well. You can ask your friends and neighbors to sign the petition online at You can ask your church, synagogue or other faith based group to support the campaign. You can write letters to your local paper and solicit support for the ABI campaign.