It’s true that more than 30 states tax income at graduated rates, and Illinois probably could have — should have — done so a long time ago. But the examples Pritzker gave of our neighbors are grossly incongruous to Illinois. Wisconsin implemented its graduated income tax in 1911 to distribute the tax burden more fairly, not in a backward-facing move to dig itself out of an appalling accumulation of debt. Iowa instituted a graduated income tax in 1934 to help stabilize its budget during the Great Depression. Unlike Illinois, Iowa has not jacked up the rates irresponsibly as a way to claw out of abysmal financial management.