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Illinois senator says agriculture must expand coalition for estate tax reform

An Illinois state senator says agriculture needs to keep up its push for estate tax relief at the state level.

Mahomet Republican Chapin Rose tells Brownfield, “This is not a hypothetical.”  He says, “I literally have a guy in Vermilion County, Illinois. He retired as an IDOT road worker and went back to the farm to farm with his dad. Sadly, his dad died shortly thereafter. They had to sell the farm.”

Newly elected Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) board member Brian Corkill, a Henry County farmer, says the issue is a top priority.

“That’s just an unfair burden.”  He says, “Especially when we pay multiple times that we’ve been taxed on our production and property tax. All those kinds of things. So that’s just another hit when you have to do that after someone passes away.”

Rose says the effects of the current $4 million threshold go beyond agriculture.

“It’s just not right, and it’s not just farmers; it’s capital.”  He says, “I mean, think about any car dealership, any grocery store. So, I think we need a broader coalition, but I actually believe we could pass this in the Senate. I believe JB Pritzker would sign it. I think the House Democrats are the sticking point.”

Recent efforts to raise the state’s estate tax limits have failed, with some lawmakers citing the state’s ongoing budgetary shortfalls as the main concern.  IFB estimates the previously introduced Family Farm Preservation Act would cost the state about $20 million annually.

Brownfield spoke with both at the 2025 Illinois Farm Bureau annual meeting in Chicago.

AUDIO: Illinois State Senator Chapin Rose