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PAGE 11 -PLAINDEALER - FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 3, 197H Nov. 7 General Election Information Candidates For County Offices For State Senate ROSEMARY AZZAKO Republican County Clerk AUDREY WALGENBACII Republican County Treasurer RON STROl'PE Democrat County Treasurer RICHARD KAROLUS Republican Sheriff ARTHUR TYRRELL Democrat Sheriff EDWARD W. HALL Republican Superintendent of Schools VERNON KAYS, JR Republican Circuit Court Clerk K A HI. BERNING Republican State Senator :s2nd District Seek County Board Posts For Governor In U.S. Senate Race C. B "CLINT" CLAYPOOI. Hepublican THOMAS HI EM ANN Hepublican EDW ARD J. Bl 'SS Hepublican DEANC ( I NAT Hepublican MIC'IIAEL B \K M IS Democrat I \MES THOMPSON Republican \LF.X SEITH Democrat CIIARLKK PERCY Republican Constitutional Amendments C ~ « L - In IJ S Cnnnr&*l<i p following amendments to the Constitution of Illinois will be w V* f\ www I III • \J • V* I I I O The following amendments to the Constitution of Illinois will be submitted to the voters Nov 7 Presented here are the present form of the Constitution; proposed amendments to it; explanations of the proposed amendments; arguments in favor of them and arguments against them: PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SECTION 5 OF ARTICLE IX (Personal Property Tax) ARTICLE IX (Present Form) Section 5. Personal Property Taxation (a) The General Assembly by^iaw may classify pcisonai property for purposes of taxation by valuation, abolish such taxes on any or all classes and authorize the levy of taxes in l ieu of the taxation of personal property by valuation (b) Any ad valorem personal property tax abolished on or before the effective date of this Consti tution shall not be reinstated (c> On or before January f ' . 1979, the General Assembly by law shall abolish all ad valorem personal property taxes and concurrently therewith and thereafter shall replace all revenue lost by units of local government and school distr icts as a lesult of the aboli t ion of ad valorem personal property taxes subsequent to January 2. 1971 Such revenue shall be replaced by imposing statewide taxes, other than ad valorem taxes on real estate, solely on those classes rel ieved of the burden of paying ad valorem personal property taxes because of the aboli t ion of such taxes subsequent to January 2. 1971 If any (axes imposed for such replacement purposes are taxes on or measured by incomc. such replacement taxes shall not be considered for purposes of the l imitat ions of one tax and ihe rat io of 8 to 5 set forth in Section J(a) of this Article A R I 1 ( 1 I I X (Proposed Amendment I Section s Personal Property I axation (al Ihe General Assembly by law may classify personal property for purposes of taxation by valuation, abolish such taxes on any or all classes and authorize the levy of taxes in l ieu of the taxation of personal property by valuation (b) Any ad valorem personal property tax abolished on or before the effective dale of this Consti tution shall not be reinstated (ct Ihe General Assembly by law may abolish all ad valorem personal property taxes and concurrently therewith and thereafter shall replace all rev enue lost by units of local government and school distr icts as a result of the aboli t ion of ad valorem personal property taxes subsequent to January 2, 1971 Such revenue shall be replaced by imposing state wide taxes, other than ad valorem taxes on real estate, solely on those classes rel ieved of the burden of paying ad valorem personal property taxes because of the aboli t ion of such taxes subsequent to January 2, 1971 If any taxes imposed for such replacement purposes are taxes on or measured by income, such replacement taxes shall not be considered for purposes of the l imitat ions of one tax and the rat io of 8 to 5 set forth in Section 3(a) of this Article SI HEDULE I he foregoing Amendment to Section 5 of Article IX Of the Consti tution takes effect upon i ts adoption by the electors of this State LXPI ANA HON Oh AMENDMENT iVe form of Ballot) ARGUMENTS IN T AVOR OF I MF PROPOSED PERSON AL PROPFR I Y TAX AMENDMENT I his Consti tutional Amendment does not affect any taxes imposed stnetly on individuals Corporations, partnerships, and trusts are the only enti t ies on which personal property taxes are now imposed. Ihe proposed Consti tutional Amendment el iminates the January I . 1979 date for the aboli t ion and replacement of the personal property tax It alv> makes permissive, rather than mandatory . the requirement that the legislature abolish and replace the tax T his Amendment di»es not change the requirement for replacing the personal property tax in the event the legislature abolishes it Previous to 1970, personal property taxes were paid by both individuals and business enti t ies However, in 1970 Il l inois law changed and the require­ ment for paying personal property taxes no longer applied to individuals. During that same year, the Consti tutional Convention called for the removal of this tax on business enti t ies The Convention also required that suitable re placement taxes be imposed simultaneously I hey established a date of January I . 1979, by which the removal and replacement was to have been completed During the eight years since the 1970 Consti tutional ( onvention was held, no legislat ion has been enacted into law to replace the revenue which would be lost by the aboli t ion of the personal property tax No agreement has been reached because 11) There are differing opinions in the business community as to how, and even if , the personal property tax should be replaced (2) No consensus exists on what type of replacement taxes should be imposed (J) No consensus exists on how the replacement revenues should be distr ibuted (4) Taxpayers in general are also divided on what should be done A hasty at tempt to enact new replacement taxescould be very detrimental to the business cl imate in I l l inois, as the current tax is considered preferable to a total ly unknown tax replacement source Retention of the personal property tax, unti l a tnlty equitable replacement source can be found. could benefi t the Il l inois business cl imate for the following reasons (1) The personal property tax is a local tax not administered by the state As a result , ci t ies and counties may be able to use it as an incentive to at tract new businesses (2) The personal property tax remains stable in periods of recession and docs not f luctuate with ups and downs in the economy as do income and sales taxes (J) The revenue generated by the personal property tax is easier to alio- Legislative Candidates JOHN\NDERSON Hepublican Rep. in Congress l iuh District ROBERT McCLORN Republican Rep in ( ongress i :uh District KREDEHK K SI I I II \ Democrat Hep. in ( ongress nth Distr ict ( \ l \ IN I SKINNER. JR. Republican : i : ! rd District BRICK WADDEL Republican 33rd District THOM AS J. II \N All \N Democrat 33rd District cate than statewide taxes, because the revenue remains i n t h e s a m e area in which it i s produced (4) Any s ta tewide replacement taxes would l ike ly sh i f t the t a x b u r d e n among bus inesses crea t ing uncer ta in ty and addi t ional cos ts f o r s o m e businesses. With the passage of this Consti tutional Amendment, more t i m e w i l l b e al lowed to insure tha t an equi table so lu t ion can be found I f th is C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Amendment i s not adopted , lawsui ts a re l ike ly to be f i led seeking to i n v a l i d a t e the personal proper ty tax I t i s the opin ion of the Genera l Assembly i n p r o p o s ­ ing this Consti tutional Amendment thai the personal property tax would le- main in fu l l force and ef fec t a f te r January 1 . 1979, unt i l rep laced in a c c o r d a n c e with the Const i tu t ion However , in propos ing th is Const i tu t ional A m e n d m e n t to the people , the Genera l Assembly in tends to avoid the l i t iga t ion which c o u l d cause some shor t - te rm dis rupt ion in revenue to schools and o ther l o c a l g o v ­ ernments unti l Ihe matter is f inally resolved To avoid these problems, this Amendment should b e a d o p t e d l ! w i l l provide the s ta te wi th more f lexib i l i ty in dec id ing how a n d w h e n t h e e x i s t i n g personal property tax should be removed and replaced ARGUMENTS AGAINST IHE PROPOSED "PERSONAl PROPERTY I AX AMFNDMFNI The pe r sona l p rope r ty t ax i s an un fa i r , uneven ly admin i s t e r ed t a x I h e - people of this state voted overwhelmingly to abolish the personal proper tv ta\ on individuals in a 1970 referendum The people also, in rat ifying the I9"0 I l l inois Const i tu t ion , mandated the Genera l Assembly to abol i sh a l l r e m a i n i n g personal proper ty taxes -- those now paid by corpora t ions , p a r t n e r s h i p s a n . I t rusts -- by January I . 1979 T his proposed Consti tutional Amendment would reverse the m a n d a t e o t the people and remove the January I . 1979 deadl ine for abol i sh ing t h e l a s i remnants of the personal proper ty tax I f adopted , i t a l so would no l o n g e r r e q u i r e the s ta te leg is la ture to abol i sh the tax but would s imply a l low tha t a c t i o n to be taken a t some t ime in the fu ture I f th is Amendment i s approved bv t h e voters, i t is l ikely that an admittedly bad tax will never be -eliminated This Amendment should be defeated The tax should be abolished a n d ihe revenues lost to local governments and school distr icts should be replaced through o ther taxes on corpora t ions , par tnerships and t rus ts -- as the C o n s t i t u ­ t ion now requi res No replacement taxes may be imposed on indiv iduals o i o n real estate T he reasons for abolishing the personal property tax are as valid today . is they were when the C onsti tution was adopted in 1970: 1 The personal property tax is probably the worst tax we have li i s difficult and expensive to collect , and it is almost impossible to administer fair ly 2 The tax is subject to pressures, manipulations, corruption and evasion This places an undue burden on taxpayers who pay their taxes and fosteis disrespect for the entire system V There is a growing trend toward the aboli t ion or reduction of personal property taxes Thirty-three states and the Distr ict of Columbia either have reduced or el iminated the personal property tax on business. I l l inois ' abil i ty u> compete effectively with other states in at tracting and keeping business -- and jobs -- will be impaired as long as this regressive tax is in existence 4 T here is no relat ionship between the way the tax fal ls on a business a n d the prof i t s tha t bus iness makes Ihe tax fa l l s most heavi ly on ut i l i t ies tha t p a s s the tax on in h igher u t i l i ty b i l l s ; on re ta i le rs who have to mainta in i n v e n t o r i e s , and on manufac turers who use a grea t dea l of machinery I t i s d i f f icu l t f o r s m a l l businesses in part icular to change then practices to minimize their taxes 5. C ollection of the tax is errat ic Statewide, collection averages 701 In some counties, i t is as low as 51%, If the lax were abolished and replaced, the replacement would surely be easier and less expensive to assess and collect I he voters have an opportunity in this election to restate their support of the immediate aboli t ion of the personal property tax by voting "no * * * * PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SF( I ION 6 Of- A R 11 CI I IX (Veterans Organizations ' Post Homes Exemption) ART IC I I IX (Present Form) Section 6 Exemptions From Property Taxation I he General Assembly by law may exempt from taxation only the prop erty of the State, units of local government and school distr icts and property used exclusively for agricultural and horticultural societies, and for school, re l ig ious , cemetery and char i tab le purposes . The Genera l Assembly by l a w may grant homestead exemptions or rent credits . AR I l ( I f IV (Proposed A m e n d m e n t ) Section 6 Exemptions I rom Pioperty lavit ion The General Assembly bv law mav exempt fioij i taxation only Ihe prop erty of the State, units of local government and school distr icts and property used exclusively lot post homes ot ( ongiessioiullv chartered veterans ' or­ ganizations. agricultural and horticult iu. i l societies, and lor school, rel igious, cemetery or chari table purposes Ihe (icneial Nssemblv by law mav grant homestead exemptions or rent credits S < H I I M I I I his a m e n d m e n t t a k e s e f f e c t i m m c d t a t c l v u p o n i t s a p p i o v a l b v I h e e l e c I X l ' l A N A l I O N O I \ N 1 I N | ) \ U N I ( N e e I o i m o t H . i l l o t i A R G U M F N I S I N I A V O R O I I I I ! I ' R O I ' O S H ) V I I T R A M S O R G A N 1 / A I I O N S P O S I M O M T S I X I M I ' I I O N A M I M ) M I N I Veterans organizations ' propertv h a s t t a d i l i o n a l l v b e e n e x e m p t from t a x a ­ t ion under Il l inois law However, s ince the I l l ino is Supreme ( onrt ruled that one Amencan Legion Post was not a char i tab le o ig .un/a t ion . the property tax exemption for veterans groups has become incre . i s inglv l ine lea l I he result has been that the granting of lax exempt s t . i tu„s to v e tc tans or gam/at ions has varied throughout I l l inois I h e proposed ( o n s t i l u t i o n . i l N m e n d m e n l i s des igned t o clarify this legal uncertainty It adds "post homes of ( ongressionally chartered veterans ' organizations" to the types of piopertv eligible for tax exemption T he Congressionally chartered v eterans organizations are I he Amencan Legion, AMVFTS, Disabled American Veterans. \ elerans of foreign Wars. Blind Veterans Association. Marine ( orps I e . igue. Mili tary Order of the Purple Heart , Paralyzed Veterans of America. ( ongressional Medal of Honor Society, I egion of Valor. United Spanish ^Nai Veterans, and Veterans of World W ar I (Other veterans groups could come-under this Amendment if they obtain a C ongressional charter I At present, there are some I 2X4 p o s t homes in I l l inois which serve as headquarter facil i t ies for local veteran organizations A tew years ago. there were 2,500 to 3.000 post homes in I l l inois, but due to taxes and rising mainte­ nance costs, there has been a steady dectease in the number Veterans post homes in I l l inois provide a r ich asset to their communities In many areas, the veterans post homes serve as the community center for the entire population in that area They support numerous civic and chari table activit ies, youth programs, and educational and athletic programs, in addit ion to patriotic activit ies Post homes regularly support scholarships for the education of youth and to send children to summer camps Veterans posts provide aid to indigent veterans and their families, support the national home for children of deceased veterans, and provide funds to the Il l inois Soldiers and Sailors Homes Veter­ ans posts donate medical equipment to hospitals and support volunteer hospi­ tal programs Post homes also support various law enforcement and safety education programs, the scouting movement and patriotic education programs Veterans sponsored athletic programs, and the post homes' support of the l i t t le leagues and junior athlet ics are the principal amateur athlet ic programs in many parts of I l l inois F very year on Memorial Day . thousands of \ e terans grav es are decorated with flags through the efforts of veterans oigani/at ions In addit ion to all of these aciiv i t i e s , w h i c h a j , e f inancially supported by the post homes, post home facil i t ies are regularly made available to other chari ta ble organizations at minimal, or no cost I he ent i re community benefi ts from the existence of these post homes Membership in post homes is drawn from veterans l iving in the surround ing areas Most post homes are supported bv the dues and activit ies of the members of thai individual post home Increased property taxes have threatened the demise of many of the post homes throughout the State T hese homes can no longer be supported by membership dues and other activ i t ies and pay increasingly larger propert .y lax bil ls Because the total post home property is an extremely small percentage of the tax base, and because in manv counties post homes are not taxed now, this Amendment will have very l i t t le impact on property taxes Veterans organizations are.public service organizations in the truest sense They consist of individuals w ho v olunteer their serv ice and monev to the continuation of the spiri t of patriotism thai is the foundation of our nation Veterans post homes have earned this exemption This Amendment de­ serves the support of the voters ARGUMENTS AGAINSI THE PROPOSFI) VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS POST HOMES EXEMPT ION AMEN DM FN'I I his Amendment at tempts to take more property off ihe tax rolls , which would increase the property tax burden on homeowners and on commercial propert ies. The Amendment is unfair i t excludes non-C ongressionally chartered veterans organizations such as the Catholic War Veterans, Jewish War Vet­ erans. I tal ian War Veterans, the Polish Legion, the Navy Club It also excludes all other social and fraternal groups, such as the Masons. Knights of Columbus VI oose. Flks and others If this Amendment is approved by tbe voters, other social and fraternal organizations will demand that they too should be exempted from propertv taxes Their argument will be difficult to resist , and if the door is opened it w i l l be diff icult to close This would result in a further tax burden on homeowners and on commercial propert ies The proponents describe this proposed Amendment as an at tempt to "clarify" the law But the law is clear Post homes are often used for commer­ cial purposes and therefore are not chari t ies that can be exempted from prop erty taxes The Supreme Court of I l l inois so ruled in I9V> There has been absolutely no change to justify reversing that decision by adopting this Amendment T he proponents argue that post homes in some counties have been exernp ted from property taxation This is because some lax officials in those counties have not been following the law This, however, is not , t reason to amend the Consti tution. VI osi post homes include in their operation the sale of l iquor I he pro posed tax break is not for veterans, but for certain veterans organizations that use the post homes as commercial ventures Post homes today exist throughout I l l inois If t h e i r membership w ishes t o suppor t them, they wi l l cont inue There i s n o n e e d t o keep o r g a n i z a t i o n s ar t i f ic ia l ly a l ive by tax breaks tha t wi l l u l t i m a t e l y b e p a i d by o t h e r p r o p e r l y taxpayers I his Amendment at tempts to take m o r e p r o p e r t v o f i t h e l a x r o l l s w h i c h would increase the proper ty tax burden on h o m e o w n e r s and o n c o m m e r c i a l properties t ( I K \ t ( H H \ | | i ) I P R O P O S T I ) A M T N D M T N I f < > S f < I I O N S O f A R I K I t l \ ( P e r s o n a l P r o p e r t y T a x ) f x p l a n a t r o n o t P r o p o s e d A m e n d m e n t T h e p e r s o n a l p r o p e r t y t a x n o w i s i m p o s e d o n c o r p o r a t i o n s , p a r t n e r s h i p s a n d t r u s t s , a n d a n y r e p l a c e m e n t t a x e s m u s t b e i m p o s e d o n t h e m I n d i v i d u a l s h a v e b e e n e x e m p t f r o m t h e p e r s o n a l p r o p e r l y l a x s i n c e 1 9 7 1 a n d r e p l a c e m e n t t a x e s m a y n o t b e i m p o s e d o n t h e m A r t i c l e I X . S e c t i o n 5 ( c ) o f t h e I l l i n o i s C o n s t i t u t i o n n o w r e q u i r e s t h a t t h e l e g i s l a t u r e a b o l i s h a l l p e r s o n a l p r o p e r l y t a x e s o n o r b e f o r e J a n u a r y I . 1 9 7 9 a n d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y r e p l a c e t h e a b o l i s h e d t a x e s w i t h n e w t a x e s s u f f i c i e n t t o r e p l a c e r e v e n u e s l o s t b y l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t s a n d s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s T h e p r o p o s e d C o n s t i t u t i o n a l A m e n d m e n l e l i m i n a t e s t h e J a n u a r y I , 1 9 7 9 d a t e f o r a b o l i t i o n a n d r e p l a c e m e n t o f t h e l a x f u r t h e r , I h e p r o p o s e d A m e n d m e n t m a k e s p e r m i s s i v e , r a t h e r t h a n m a n d a l o r y , t h e r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t t h e l e g i s l a t u r e a b o l i s h t h e t a x T h i s A m e n d m e n t d o e s n o t c h a n g e t h e r e q u i r e m e n t f o r r e p l a c i n g t h e p e r s o n a l p r o p e r t y t a x i n t h e e v e n t i h e l e g i s l a t u r e a b o l i s h e s i t P l a c e a n X i n b l a n k o p p o s i t e " Y E S " o r " N O " t o i n d i c a t e y o u r c h o i c e I ' R t > P ( i s l I ) \ M I M ) M I N I | ( > S I ( I I O N M I I \ K l i t I I I V i V e t e r a n s ( I t e m i z a t i o n s P o s t H u m e s I x e r n p t i o n i I x p l a n a l i o n o l P r o p o s e d X m e i u l ' a c n i T h i s p r o p o s e d A m e n d m e n t t o \ n d i I X S e c t i o n h o f t h e I l l i n o i s < u n s t i t u t i o n w o u l d a l l o w t h e ( i c n e r a l A s s e m b l y t o e v e m p t I r o m p r o p e r ! v t a x a t i o n p r o p e r t v u s e d e x c l u s i v e l y ( o r p o s t h o m e s ( i t ( o n g r e s s i o n a l l y c h a r t e r e d v e t e r a n s ' o i g a n i / a t i o n s I h e ( o n s t i t u t i o n n o w p e r m i t s p i o p e r t v t a x e x e m p t i o n o n l y ( o r " S l a t e p r o p e r t y , * t o c a l g o v e r n m e n t a n d s c h o o l d i s t r i c t p r o p e r t y , " A g r i c u l t u r a l a n d h o r t i c u l t u r a l s o c l e t i e s ' p r o p e r t y ; * P r o p e r t y u s e d e x c l u s i v e l y f o r s c h o o l r e l i g i o u s , c e m e t e r y o r c h a r t i t a b l e p u r p o s e s P l a c e a n X i n b l a n k o p p o s i t e " Y l S " o r " N O " t o i n d i c a t e y o u r c h o i c e , V F S NO hor the proposed Smeml menl to Section 5 of Article IX of the Constitution V h S NO For the proposed \nu nd ment to Section h of tie I X of the C onsiitu lion to permil exemption from properly taxation of post homes of C ongres sionaHv chartered veterans organizations •