Illinois Fair Tax Amendment: What’s the Verdict?

If you’re looking for a clear cut answer as to whether the Illinois Fair Tax Amendment passed or not, you’re out of luck. Like many other results, ballots are still being counted.

Here’s what we know right now. With 91% of the precincts reporting; there were more than 2.5 million votes against 55%, and just over 2 million votes for 45%. We may not get a definitive answer for another couple of weeks. According to NBC-5 Chicago, Illinois election officials said Tuesday night that they estimated somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000 remained unreturned by Election Day and could continue to arrive within the two-week window in which they can legally be counted, potentially impacting the outcome of some races.

The measure is a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution, which can be ratified one of two ways: if three-fifths (or 60%) of people voting on the amendment approve it, or if a simple majority (50% plus one) of all voters, including those who skip the question on their ballots, approve it. Here’s the complete story from NBC-5 Chicago.