IVCA Provides Updates for State Legislative Issues – 10/29/2025
IVCA Illinois Legislative Report
David Stricklin, IVCA Legislative Liaison, Stricklin & Associates
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
ILLINOIS VETO SESSION HAS REVENUE ON THE MENU
Illinois legislators are meeting this week in the Capitol to address a host of issues including reform and funding mass transit. By the time you have had an opportunity to review this message things could have changed significantly. There is committee and floor action taking place all day and night with one day of session scheduled for tomorrow. The management issues for transit seem to be mostly resolved, but the how to pay for it part is under construction:
The House proposal would raise between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion annually through a mix of measures, including a 4.95% “billionaires tax” on unrealized gains, a new 7% statewide amusement tax on streaming, sports and concert tickets, and a $5 surcharge on large-event tickets that would double as a transit day pass, state Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago, one of the lead transit negotiators, told Crain’s.
TRANSIT PLAN LEAVING THE STATION?
The Illinois Revenue Alliance, which has advocated for a carried interest tax and a billionaire wealth tax has a press conference this morning to encourage consideration of its proposals which you can see here:
Illinois Revenue Alliance “Progressive” Tax Plan
Few if any of these proposals have any sort of broad support and legislators are obviously reluctant to vote on major tax increases and then go to the voters in the March primary. It’s a jigsaw puzzle without a couple of corner pieces right now.
WAITING TO SEE IF ENERGY BILL HAS THE POWER TO PASS
“This is really the only bill that recognizes we need every watt that we have got,” Illinois Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham said.
That debate is likely coming down to the Clean Renewable Grid Affordability Act or CRGA. CRGA has seen significant support from democrats and consumer advocates. But the Illinois Manufacturers Association is joining Republicans in opposing the bill.
They say funding the expanded battery storage component pushes the cost to consumers when prices are already high.
“We have to, we have the mindset right now of all energy, especially if we want to have data centers, especially if we want to expand manufacturing and people to actually come to our state,” House Minority Leader Tony McCombie said.
CITY OF CHICAGO LOOKS FOR $ FOR SCHOOLS AND SERVICES
* Crain’s | Johnson: Those opposed to head tax ’should do some real soul searching’: Mayor Brandon Johnson said today the business community is “awfully unreasonable” in opposing his attempt to revive the corporate head tax, but pledged to fight to keep it in his $16.6 billion 2026 budget proposal. “We have constantly asked working people to accept less. That’s not what my ask is in this moment. We’ve balanced budgets off the backs of working people; I’m going to defend working people in this city with everything that I have inside of me,” he said.
VETO NOT OVER AND 2026 PRESSURES ALREADY MOUNTING
* The Civic Federation | GOMB Report Projects Pressure on Illinois’ Budget Amid Federal Policy Changes: After several years of relative fiscal stability, GOMB’s new projections show emerging fiscal gaps beginning in FY2026 and widening through FY2031, driven by federal tax code changes and restrictions/cuts to federal programs like Medicaid and food assistance. The report provides updated revenue and expenditure estimates for the current 2026 fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2025, and a five-year projection through FY2031. The projections are based on current assumptions, demonstrating what would happen if no policy actions were taken to adjust for revenue declines.