Vote NO on the Progressive Tax

Bill Ward – Executive Vice President – HBAI

The Home Builders Association of Illinois has joined the “Vote No on the Progressive Tax Coalition” to defeat Governor J.B. Pritzker’s plan to bring a progressive, graduated income tax law to Illinois. HBAI joins forces in this effort with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Illinois Farm Bureau, and the Technology & Manufacturing Association to fight back at higher taxation.

HBAI has pledged a $5000 contribution to the coalition through its political action committee, HomePAC. In return, the coalition is providing HBAI with 250 yard signs and 1000 brochures asking our members to Vote No on this tax proposal.

The proposed constitutional amendment will appear on the November ballot asking voters whether the state should move from its current flat income tax to a system in which different rates are applied to different income levels.

The current flat tax prevents the Governor and the Illinois General Assembly from picking and choosing who will pay for future income tax increases and how much each income bracket will be burdened with the tax.

Under the Governor’s proposal, $3.7 billion new dollars would be raised by taxing families and businesses earning $250,000 or more. To support his initiative, Governor Pritzker has pledged $51 million of his own money to pass the amendment, which will need 60% approval of those voting in Illinois General Election in November.

The coalition has a website: noprogressivetax.com. There, you can: learn why to vote no; how to get involved; contribute to the cause; and, buy items like shirts and coffee mugs that say, “Vote No on the Progressive Tax.”
Illinoisans already pay:

• The 2^nd highest property taxes in the Nation

• Highest Gas Taxes in the Midwest

• Highest Sales Tax Rates in America

• Highest Wireless Tax Rate in the Country.

Given the tools that state government already has to raise revenues, and given that we have the highest debt of any state in the U.S., how can we possibly trust them to use new funds wisely and efficiently?

If you believe you already pay too much taxes in Illinois, you owe it to yourself to go to noprogressivetax.com right now and sign up for this campaign.

Our coalition is small now but will build in the days and weeks ahead. HBAI is proud to be a part of this coalition and we will do everything we can in the days ahead to protect you and your hard-earned income.

Home Builders Reach Agreement with ComEd

Bill Ward – Executive Vice President – HBAI

If you are developing land or building homes in an area of the state served by ComEd, you need to read this article carefully and act soon to what you need to do save $2000 to $5000 per lot.

In 2019, Commonwealth Edison Utility Company initiated regulatory changes at the Illinois Commerce Commission which allows them to place their utility lines in the front yards of residential development. With insufficient notice to the home building industry, developers who had already obtained everything from preliminary plat approvals to final plat approvals were instructed by ComEd that their utility lines would now be buried in the front yards and that the developers would have to amend their design work to satisfy ComEd’s new requirements.

HBAI received word of this from our members in early 2020 and asked that we do what was needed to either reverse the ICC Rule or work with ComEd to grandfather in developments already underway.

Our requests to make some reasonable accommodations for our members began in February of this year beginning with meetings at the State Capitol with Chairman of the Senate Public Utilities Committee, Mike Hastings (D-Tinley Park) and with ComEd lobbyists.

To make a long story short, ComEd recently agreed to accept a list of developments from HBAI that would be exempted from the new requirement.

And now it is time for us to do our part and get this information to ComEd in a timely fashion which will be to everyone’s benefit.

If you are a developer with developments in progress, please contact me with the information needed that I will forward to ComEd. The following information is needed:

• Your Name and Your Company along with contact information;

• Name of development and the units/phases you wish to have protected; and,

• Names of Communities you are developing in.

If you are a builder, you should be just as concerned on this matter as our developers. Builders with individual lots might be required to switch out the lines to the front yard. This would be extremely expensive and could minimize your profit margin. Please send me the same information above with an address of the lot you are building on.

Our work here has only started. HBAI leadership wants to ensure that everyone receives this coverage which could include up to 40,000 homesites in N.E. Illinois. We also want to exempt all multi-family housing. And going forward, it is our desire to initiate a new working relationship with ComEd field representatives and with our members, local associations, and HBAI.

Feel free to contact me today at billward@hbai.org or call at (217) 753-3963 with your information, questions, or concerns regarding this matter.