• Any individual over age two and able to medically tolerate a face covering is required to cover their nose and mouth with a face covering when in a public place and unable to maintain at least a six-foot social distance.

• Any business, service, facility, or organization shall take reasonable steps to require employees, customers, and other individuals on the premises to wear a face covering.

• Gatherings of more than 50 people or more than 50% of a building's maximum capacity are prohibited unless exempted by law or Executive Order.

• First, the establishment will be given a written notice of non-compliance by an enforcing entity and a reasonable opportunity to come into compliance.

• Second, the establishment may be ordered to have some or all the people on the premises disperse if it does not voluntarily comply in a reasonable time after receiving a verbal or written notice.

• Third, any establishment that refuses to comply with a written order to disperse will be subject to the penalties set forth in Section 8.1 of the Department of Public Health Act, which could include a Class A Misdemeanor. For an establishment, the only possible penalty is a fine of between $75 and $2500 for refusal to voluntarily comply after an opportunity to come into compliance.

• Enforcing entities are required to take into consideration reasonable efforts taken by the establishment to ensure patrons and employees wear a face covering while they are at the establishment and unable to maintain a social distance of at least six feet.

• The rule makes clear in numerous places that no individual may be subject to the penalties set forth under Section 8.1 of the Act.

The authors of the study were granted complete independence to provide an objective analysis of the effects of the proposed Income Tax Hike Amendment.

"This independent study concludes what many of us already knew: this is the worst possible time for a $3.4 billion tax hike on Illinois families and businesses," said Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch. "The pandemic has already crushed small business owners, manufacturers and farmers, and this independent study proves that the Tax Hike Amendment would be the last straw for many more."

"Our report shows that the graduated income tax would be a devastating hit to Illinois' already struggling economy. And, job losses would disproportionately affect women and minorities," said Ariel R. Belasen, Ph.D., Professor at SIUE and independent study co-author.

The key findings of the independent analysis include:

• Job losses would disproportionately affect women and minorities: Women and minorities are likely to be disproportionately affected by the job losses because three of the four sectors of the economy that the economic model indicates will be hardest hit by the tax increase. Hospitals, Restaurants, and Individual and Family Services - tend to employ relatively more workers from these demographic groups.
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):
• Hospitals disproportionally employ women (74.9% of jobs in sector vs. 47% of all jobs across all sectors);
• Restaurants disproportionally employ Hispanic or Latino workers (26.8% vs. 17.6% of all jobs across all sectors); and
• The Individual and Family Services sector disproportionately employs women (78.3%) and African Americans (20.7% vs. 12.3% of all jobs across all sectors).

• Reduction in GDP: Approval of the proposed Constitutional Amendment will cause up to a $1.8billion reduction in the income of Illinois residents annually, as measured by thestate's gross domestic product (GDP).
   
• Higher corporate taxes will be passed on to consumers: The corporate tax rate will increase from 9.5% to 10.49% (an increase of10%), the second highest in the country. Studies show that some portion of revenues arising from an increase in the corporate tax rate ($332 million) would be passed on to suppliers and customers, increasing prices on goods and services, and potentially suppressing worker wages.
   
• Out-migration of thousands of high-income households: Some of the job losses will result from reduced spending on food and services arising from an increase in the rate of out-migration by Illinois residents seeking to escape the relatively heavy tax burden that the state imposes on its residents. Based on the most-recent empirical studies by economists, we estimate that increased out-migration will lead to a reduction in household spending by taxpayers in the affected income brackets of up to 0.8%.
   
• No material income tax relief: The average annual tax relief per filer in the lower income brackets is small, and might be less than a single-family meal at a fast food restaurant for many filers.

For a copy of the Analysis go to: https://files.constantcontact.com/61a72ae3201/676543c2-0c78-4532-ba9a-bffea9d0160a.pdf