Farmers Weekly Review

By Mark Schneidewind
Manager
Will County Farm Bureau

We have received several calls into the office asking us about the questions that will appear on your ballot that are considered advisory questions.

Voters in Illinois on November 5^th will be asked for their opinion on 3 advisory referendum questions. These advisory questions were placed on the ballot by the Illinois General Assembly with the passage of SB 2112 in May of this year. This has been utilized in the past and are considered non-binding, however, they have proven to increase the numbers at the polling places.

Question 1: Election Interference:

The first ballot question is the Election Worker Protection and Candidate Accountability Referendum. The question reads: “Should any candidate appearing on the Illinois ballot for federal, state, or local office be subject to civil penalties if the candidate interferes or attempts to interfere with an election worker’s official duties?” This is a simple Yes or No vote.

None of the terms used in the question, such as “interfere”, “election worker”, nor “official duties” are defined. Currently, state law includes several prohibitions with interfering with elections, and many include a clear criminal penalty if interference occurs. This appears to be asking if individuals should be subject to civil lawsuits in addition to current criminal penalties.

 

Question 2: Income Tax Surcharge for Property Tax Relief:

This is called the “Property Tax Relief and Fairness Referendum,” which reads as follows: “Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to create an additional 3% tax on income greater than $1,000,000.00 for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief?”

This single question asks, primarily, should the Constitution be amended to enable a progressive income tax structure. The Illinois Constitution requires a simple flat tax structure. The question then asks if that additional income tax tier should be an additional 3% tax on income over $1 million. Finally, the question implies that the additional income tax revenue generated from the surcharge tax, would be dedicated to property tax relief. The form or significance of that property tax relief is not specified.

Based on the number of millionaires living in Illinois, and their individual state income tax filings in 2023, the Illinois Department of Revenue estimates that this would generate $4.5 billion in additional tax collections to the State of Illinois. As you may remember, Farm Bureau has opposed a progressive income tax structure and supports a flat income tax.

 

Question 3: Mandatory Insurance Coverage for IVF:

The third question deals with the “Assisted Reproductive Health Referendum” and it reads as follows:

“Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including but not limited to in vitro fertilization, be covered by any insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments?”

The Affordable Care Act currently requires all health insurance plans to cover essential health benefits, inclusive of pregnancy and childbirth benefits. In addition, Illinois already requires group health plans to cover fertility benefits, including IVF.

This question is essentially asking should individual health plans be required to fully cover, with no copay, all assisted reproductive treatments without limits.

Farm Bureau policy states, “We support the relaxation of state and federal mandates which require that certain provisions be included in all health insurance policies. Consumers should be given choices as to what provisions are included in their health insurance programs.”

The Will County Farm Bureau hopes this is helpful to you as you consider these ballot advisory questions as you prepare to vote early or on November 5.