Illinois residents already suffer under the 2nd highest property taxes in the nation. Amendment 1 will, on average, implement a property tax increase of $2100 annually per household. That burden will also be felt by family businesses already struggling to stay afloat. The amendment grants unions ultimate authority in determining policy in lieu of duly elected public officials, thus placing limits on local government reforms that could use taxpayer dollars more efficiently.
It also has the potential to overturn more than 350 existing state laws, without the consent of the governed. Amendment 1 will give unions more power than they wield in any other state and make the citizens of Illinois their subordinate subjects. Democracy cannot work if elected officials lack the ability to govern.
The Libertarian Party of Chicago vehemently believes this amendment must be defeated in order to preserve the democratic process and to prevent an oligarchy ruled by the bosses of organized labor.