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State Week: Pritzker Unveils New Tax Plan, Schock Cuts Deal To Drop Charges

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Brian Mackey
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NPR Illinois

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has finally revealed a few details about his plans to change the Illinois income tax. He's asking the General Assembly and voters to approve a constitutional amendment making the flat tax into one that's graduated, where the wealthy pay higher rates.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock as gotten an unusual deal from federal prosecutors. He was facing federal corruption charges for allegedly defrauding taxpayers and campaign contributors — prosecutors had charged him with misusing campaign funds and inflating mileage reimbursement. But this week he got a deferred prosecution agreement, where if he stays out of trouble for six months, pays back taxes to the IRS and repays his campaign fund, charges will be dropped.

Plus, the death of a child has DCFS under the microscope at a legislative hearing and House Speaker Michael Madigan is back in the news over the way he and his aides have handled allegations of harassment.

Sean Crawford hosts with regular panelists Charlie Wheeler, Brian Mackey and Daisy Contreras, and guest Tony Arnold of Chicago public radio station WBEZ.

Brian Mackey formerly reported on state government and politics for NPR Illinois and a dozen other public radio stations across the state. Before that, he was A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.
The former director of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) graduate program is Professor Charles N. Wheeler III, a veteran newsman who came to the University of Illinois at Springfield following a 24-year career at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Daisy reported on statehouse issues for our Illinois Issues project. She's a Public Affairs Reporting program graduate from the University of Illinois Springfield. She also graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and has an associates degrees from Truman College. Daisy is from Chicago where she attended Lane Tech High School.
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