Illinois Fair Tax
Failed 2020 amendment proposition in Illinois, U.S.
The Illinois Fair Tax was a proposed amendment to the Illinois state constitution that would have effectively changed the state income tax system from a flat tax to a graduated income tax. The proposal, formally titled the "Allow for Graduated Income Tax Amendment", appeared on the ballot in the November 3, 2020 election in Illinois as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment striking language from the Constitution of Illinois requiring a flat state income tax. Concurrent with the proposed constitutional amendment, the Illinois legislature passed legislation setting a new set of graduated income tax rates that would have taken effect had the amendment been approved by voters.
Proponents argued that the proposal would make the Illinois tax code fairer, provide tax relief to most Illinoisans, better fund public goods and social services, and boost small businesses. Opponents argued it would open the door to future tax hikes, hurt businesses, drive businesses and wealthy residents to neighboring states, and place more revenues in the hands of an untrustworthy state government.
The referendum was not approved, receiving about 47% "yes" votes and 53% "no" votes. As a constitutional amendment, the proposal needed to be approved by 60% of those voting on the referendum, or by 50% of all voters voting in the election.
The term "Fair Tax" is used by legislative proponents and advocates of the proposed amendment, who consider a graduated income tax to be more fair than a flat tax. Opponents of the proposal refer to it using other, less favorable terms.
Context
Under current law, Illinois's state income tax rate is a flat rate of 4.95 percent.
The public source identifies “Illinois Fair Tax” as failed 2020 amendment proposition in Illinois, U.S. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Illinois, Fair and Failed.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Illinois Fair Tax”, the useful work is to connect “failed 2020 amendment proposition in Illinois, U.S” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16985657. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2020.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Illinois Fair Tax”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Illinois Fair Tax primary sources, Illinois Fair Tax archive and Illinois research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Illinois Fair Tax”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Illinois Fair Tax” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.