The Knox County Board meets Wednesday, April 28, for their regular monthly meeting where board members will consider approving a resolution to oppose Governor J.B. Pritzker’s reduction in the Local Government Distributive Fund.
When Illinois first adopted its flat income tax in 1969, it was agreed that a percentage of the revenue generated, at the time 10 percent, would be directed back to municipalities. This is the LGDF.
Monies from this fund are expected to see a 10 percent reduction due to the failure of the graduated income tax amendment that Pritzker called “the fair tax.”
With the amendment failing to pass in the state, the state’s budget was thrown out of whack. To counter this, Gov. Pritzker has proposed that budgets in all departments be reduced, including the LGDF.
This is not the first time that the LGDF was cut. In 2011, former Governor Pat Quinn, in an effort to balance the state’s budget, reduced the LGDF share of the revenue while also increasing taxes.
It again changed in 2015, increasing to 8 percent, and again in 2017, when it was reduced to 5.45 percent for individual income taxes and 6.16 percent for corporate income taxes.
Currently, the LGDF share is to be 6.06 percent for individual income taxes and 6.845 percent for corporate income tax.
The resolution indicates that Gov. Pritzker plans to reduce the LGDF by 10 percent. It is believed this blanket cut would reduce the LGDF to 5.46 percent for individual taxpayers and 6.245 percent for corporate taxes.
Board members will also consider a renovation plan for the Knox County Nursing Home. Board documents indicate that the project could take up to 48 weeks, depending on the inspection and approval timeline from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The board is meeting both in person at Galesburg City Hall and online via video-conferencing application Zoom at 7:00 pm.
