A plan to move Illinois to a graduated income tax is dead. Wednesday was the final scheduled session day for lawmakers to advance it. Instead, the Illinois House adjourned without taking a vote.
Illinois' constitution only allows income to be taxed at a flat rate.
Rep. Christian Mitchell and other Democrats wanted to amend the constitution, so the state could charge the wealthy more. He says a package was carefully crafted, so that for most Illinois residents -- it'd lead to a tax cut.
Mitchell says through much of Tuesday, he thought he had enough support to pass it.
But when it became clear that had changed, he decided not to even try.
"When you do something as large as changing tax policy, you want it to be bipartisan. And we had three Republican members who were ready to vote for the bill, and, you know, Bruce Rauner sort of reached in and turned off the switch. And that was the end of the proposal."
Rauner - who's made about $60 million a year - would surely have seen his tax bill rise. He says a “tax on successful people" would drive wealthy business owners out of Illinois.
The Rauner administration released a study supporting its argument. His office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment as to whether he actively told Republican legislators to vote no.
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