Illinois gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker speaks during a round table discussion with high school students at a creative workspace for women on October 1, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

With the news that Gov. J.B. Pritzker spent $51.5 million to back an advertising campaign for his graduated-rate tax proposal, the contest to win the Nov. 3 vote on a state constitutional amendment jumped into a new gear.

It’s a vital issue for the state. Pritzker’s proposed graduated income tax has the potential to be the biggest change to the state’s tax structure since the income tax first was introduced by Gov. Richard B. Ogilvie in 1969.

For his efforts, Ogilvie was denied reelection. Voters felt betrayed by a governor who introduced the income tax in his first budget address — on April Fools’ Day, no less — after making no mention of it during the campaign or his first months in office.

Pritzker has been upfront about what he calls a “fair tax.” He campaigned on the idea of raising taxes for the top 3% of the state’s taxpayers and holding steady for everyone else. The $51.5 million he just spent — nearly a third as much as he spent to get elected — shows his commitment to the plan.

Read the rest at chicagotribune.com

David Greising is the president and chief executive of the Better Government Association, joining the BGA in 2018. For nearly a century, the BGA has fought for honest and effective government through investigative journalism and policy advocacy.

Greising’s career started at the City News Bureau of Chicago, with stops at the Chicago Sun-Times, Business Week magazine, the Chicago Tribune and Reuters. He was a co-founder of the Chicago News Cooperative and worked briefly as a consultant to World Business Chicago. Today, Greising writes on government issues in regular columns for the Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business.

Under Greising’s leadership, the BGA has played a key role in uncovering public corruption amidst the wide-ranging federal probe, starting with an in-depth report about Ald. Ed Burke’s conflicts of interest before the federal charges against Burke. The BGA also has exposed waste and fraud at O’Hare and the proliferation of corruption and poverty into Dolton, Lyons and other Chicago suburbs. The BGA’s policy team has led calls for ethics reform in Chicago’s City Council and in state government.