Is Illinois going to get a millionaire's tax. Cook County voted "yes".

WTF. Easy on the gas grosshopper, let me mansplain this. The recent ballot measures showing high approval rates in Chicago and Cook County are simply expression of voter sentiment.

For this tax to become law, it needs to be voted on and passed in Springfield (our state capital). The next window for that to occur is 2028 and legislatively it's an uphill battle.

Below the story is an analysis of this subject by Gemini.

Chicagoans embrace millionaire tax

By Monica Eng, Axios New

Nov 4, 2026

Chicago voters overwhelmingly approved ballot measures promoting a millionaire tax, a new gunshot detection system, a permanent fairground and seeking federal compensation for Midway Blitz damage.

Why it matters: These enthusiastic answers could help fuel binding legislation on the issues in the future.

For example, voters' 80% approval of the millionaire tax is certain to be mentioned by Mayor Brandon Johnson as he promotes some of the corporate taxes in his latest budget proposal.

And the 73% approval for a new gunshot detection program could soften the mayor's past opposition to the tech and hasten the process to secure a new system.

By the numbers: Here's where the votes stood Wednesday morning with 1,232 of 1,291 precincts reporting for each question.

Millionaire tax

Yes: 80% No: 20%

"Shall Illinois adopt the Millionaire Amendment for Property Tax Relief and Education, which would enact a 3% income tax surcharge only on millionaires and use 50% of this new revenue to provide property tax relief for residential and commercial taxpayers and 50% to improve state funding for public education?"

Zoom in: The tax, applied to income over $1 million, could affect about 41,000 Illinois residents and generate $3.8 billion in its first full year, according to a report by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and UIUC.

Yes, but: Opponents warn it could drive businesses and revenue out of the state.

Cook County voters overwhelmingly approved the non-binding advisory question in favor of the proposed 3% surcharge. However, because the measure faces a high constitutional bar in Springfield—and stalled in the Illinois House earlier in 2026—the 3% tax is not law and faces steep legislative and statewide hurdles before it could ever take effect.

1. How Voters Voted (November 3, 2026)

• Countywide (Suburban Cook County): Unofficial returns from suburban Cook County (administered by the Cook County Clerk, which covers Arlington Heights) show the advisory measure passed overwhelmingly, with roughly 80% voting "Yes" and 20% voting "No".

• City of Chicago: Chicago voters (administered separately by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners) approved a companion advisory question on using millionaire surcharge revenue for public schools by a nearly identical 80% to 20% margin.

• Arlington Heights Breakdown: Municipality-specific precinct tallies for the countywide advisory question in Arlington Heights are not broken out in public summaries. You can check precinct- and township-level breakdowns (covering Wheeling and Elk Grove townships) directly through the Cook County Clerk's official election results portal. (For broader local context on the same ballot, Arlington Heights voters defeated a local Arlington Heights Park District bond measure.)

• 
  

2. Is the 3% Extra Tax Likely to Become Law?

In the short term, no—and long-term passage remains an uphill climb for several reasons:

• The November Vote Was Purely Symbolic: The ballot question only asked whether voters advise Illinois to adopt the "Millionaire Amendment". It carries zero legal force.

• It Already Stalled in Springfield in 2026: Because the Illinois Constitution mandates a flat income tax (currently 4.95%), adding a 3% surcharge on income over $1 million requires a constitutional amendment. A proposed amendment (HJRCA 21) advanced out of committee in April 2026 but lacked the required three-fifths supermajority (71 votes) in the Illinois House and failed to advance before the May 2026 deadline.

• Next Possible Window Is 2028: Under Illinois' constitutional amendment rules, lawmakers cannot put a binding amendment on a statewide ballot until the November 2028 general election—and only if both the Illinois House and Senate pass it by a three-fifths supermajority by early May 2028.

• Statewide Voter Hurdle: Even if Springfield passes an amendment, it must still be ratified by Illinois voters statewide (requiring either 60% approval among those voting on the question or a majority of all ballots cast in the election). While Cook County strongly favors progressive tax proposals and a 2024 statewide advisory question received roughly 61% support, Illinois voters rejected a binding graduated income tax amendment ("Fair Tax") statewide in 2020 amid opposition from business groups and concerns over pass-through small businesses and outmigration.