Union County to ask voters whether Illinois should opt into scholarship tax-credit program

On Dec. 29 the Union County Board voted to submit a nonbinding advisory referendum to county voters asking whether the state of Illinois should opt into the Educational Choice for Children Act, a scholarship tax-credit program.

Speaker 1 described the proposal: the act would provide tax credits for individuals who donate to scholarship organizations that support students attending K–12 schools of their choice. The transcript states the program offers a federal tax credit of up to $17,000,000 for donors to scholarship organizations; board members emphasized that the referendum is advisory and nonbinding on the state.

The board approved the resolution to place the question on the March ballot. The transcript does not specify the exact March election date or the mechanics for ballot placement beyond the board's approval of the resolution.

What this means: a countywide advisory question will give local voters a chance to express whether Illinois should participate in the scholarship tax-credit program; the referendum does not itself change state law and would not directly create funds unless the state takes action to opt in.