Early voting opened in parts of Illinois last week.  

Illinois voters will be asked to weigh in on three issues this fall when they cast their ballots after the General Assembly approved advisory referendums to guide future policy decisions.  

State lawmakers voted to approve SB2412 in the spring that puts the three advisory questions on the ballot. The bill came as a surprise the day it was introduced in the House as it also housed a change that would immediately ban the slating process in uncontested legislative races.  

The bill passed both chambers with all Republicans voting present on the measure, as many were in favor of putting advisory questions on the ballot for voters to weigh in but opposed banning slating, which they viewed as a Democratic effort to tamp down Republican competition. The State Board of Elections has ultimately allowed most slated candidates to remain on the ballot this fall.  

The first questions votes will be asked reads “Should any candidate appearing on the Illinois ballot for federal, State, or local office be subject to civil penalties if the candidate interferes or attempts to interfere with an election worker’s official duties?” 

The question comes amid growing concerns about the safety of election workers, particularly as some politicians around the country have cast doubt on the results of their elections after suffering defeat.  

A poll conducted earlier this year by the Brennan Center found 38 percent of election officials have experienced threats, harassment or abuse for doing their work. Many also reported to pollsters about being concerned for their safety since the contentious 2020 election. A report by CBS-2 also found nearly 40 percent of Illinois county clerks have left their jobs since 2020.  

Illinois law also has some penalties already in statute for interfering with the execution of an election. These include making it a Class 4 felony to intimidate or threaten someone for registering to vote or supporting a particular candidate and a Class A misdemeanor for failing to follow a lawful order from an election authority.   

If voters support the ballot question, state lawmakers are expected to explore establishing new civil penalties for candidates who interfere with election workers.   

The second question on ballots reads, “Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to create a 3 [percent] tax on income greater than $1,000,000 for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief?”   

Supporters of the idea hope voters will support such a plan to help provide relief to those struggling to pay high property taxes. 

Such a tax could be challenging to establish, however. Illinois’ constitution calls for a flat income tax rate, which is currently 4.95 percent, for all taxpayers regardless of income. A 2020 amendment to create a graduated income tax structure was defeated with 53 percent of people voting on the question opposing it. Even Democratic lawmakers aren’t sure voters would be in favor of changing the constitution.  

“That does feel quite similar, and I think that for me does not seem genuine to our voters,” Rep. Margaret Croke (D-Chicago), a graduated income tax amendment supporter, said during a House Revenue and Finance Committee hearing Thursday.   

If lawmakers decide that establishing such a relief mechanism requires changing the constitution, the question to make the change would likely go to voters again in 2026 for their approval. The ballot question comes as many homeowners, particularly in Cook County, struggle with skyrocketing property taxes rates this year.   

The third question will ask about reproductive healthcare: “Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatment, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization (IVF), be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments?”   

Protecting access to IVF took on new importance for lawmakers around the country and in Illinois this year after an Alabama court ruling that OK’d restrictions on the practice.  

Illinois lawmakers have already taken steps to require insurance coverage of reproductive treatments. Under a law passed this spring, group health insurance plans will be required to cover more rounds of infertility treatment beginning in 2026.