Originally published in Orland Park Prairie
As the upcoming 2020 Election season quickly approaches, becoming an educated voted can seem like a daunting task. Thanks to organizations like the Small Business Advocacy Council, understanding complicated ballot initiatives while also connecting with the legislators that are putting them into action is easier than it seems.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the Orland Park Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the SBAC, held a town hall to discuss the upcoming proposed graduated income tax, or a “fair tax.” The nonpartisan town hall featured a panel of local legislators of varying offices to discuss their opinion of the proposed amendment, as well as answer questions from chamber members.
Panel members were State Senator Bill Cunningham (D), 18th District; David Harris (R), State of Illinois Director of Revenue; Keith Pekau (R), Mayor of Orland Park; and State Representative Justin Slaughter (D), 27th District.
The ballot measure would repeal the state flat rate across income and would instead allow the state to enact legislation for a graduated income tax. This means that higher-earning individuals or businesses will be taxed at a progressive rate, meaning the more you make, the more you pay. Currently, the individual tax rate is a flat 4.95% for everyone regardless of income, and has been that way since 1971.
Mike Hardek, President of the Orland Chamber of Commerce, believed that helping local owners and especially local business owners to be educated in the upcoming election was an obligation of the chamber.
“There are a lot of different issues in the next election that are going to be affecting business owners, and the community as well. We want to put information out there, and be a resource of education,” Hardek said.
Hardek elaborated that one of the biggest challenges when trying to create an event like this as a Chamber of Commerce is trying to be non-political while still being informative.
“You want to support your whole community, and just by nature, that’s going to be a 50/50 split,” Hardek said. “That’s why partnering with the SBAC was such a good fit. They’re nonpartisan, they’re active and they’re out there as a voice for small-business owners in Illinois.”
Elliot Richardson, president of the SBAC, was excited to start their series of town halls in Orland Park.
“We thought that this would be a great place to start our series. We have a great relationship with the chamber, and we were able to make a great event happen that’s going to educate a lot of voters,” Richardson said.
The panel began by Director Harris giving an overview of the schedule of predicted new rates, followed by the opinions of the legislators on the panels. While Senator Cunningham and Representative Slaughter voiced their agreement, Mayor Pekau was the panel’s dissenting opinion.
Pekau, a member of the SBAC himself, was originally asked to do a welcoming speech for the event, but after hearing that the current panelists were all in favor, he offered to step in to offer a contrasting opinion.
“This vote, in my opinion, could have a huge impact on whether or not Illinois ever climbs out of this hole, and quite frankly, I think if this passes that you’ve given the state a blank check to keep raising taxes. It’s really important to me that voters get out there and vote on this, but they need to understand the facts,” Pekau said.
Orland Park resident Jim Harmening, president of Chicago-based Computer Bits, Inc., pays close attention to local issues, but was impressed at how much more information he learned at the town hall, as well as the way that the information was presented.
“I loved the format, and I appreciated a place where people discussed the issue intelligently on both sides. It’s nice to hear arguments for it and against it, and personally I think it’s important for Illinois’ finances to get it passed, even after hearing the negatives,” said Harmening.
“I was very reticent at the beginning when I first learned about it, I thought it was going to be bash one side and only support the other,” Harmening said. “That’s one of the reasons I came, I thought it was going to be all one-sided and it wasn’t at all. It was very respectful.”