A vote isn’t expected Friday on the proposed amendment to change the state constitution's flat tax to a progressive one, nor is a measure with proposed rates expected to be called.

The House Revenue and Finance Committee passed a rates proposal Friday morning along party lines, with majority Democrats in support. The rates are not different from what the Senate sent over earlier this month, but those rates were different than the rates Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed back in March.

The property tax credit was increased in the proposal from five to six percent and there’s a child tax credit and “more relief to local governments in the [Local Government Distributive Fund],” said Committee Chairman state Rep. Michael Zalewski.

There was some disagreement among Democrats about the proposed rates. State Rep. Yehiel Kalish, D-Chicago, said he thought the proposed income tax rates were too low. 

"I want to be on record saying that I don't think we go high enough," he said. "Honestly, if we are going to tax and if we're going to pass a tax, I fully believe that we have to pay the bills [from] the last four years that we've accumulated by an administration that refused to pay its bills."

Despite the measure having advanced out of committee, Zalewski said he doesn’t expect to call the measure for a vote on the full House floor on Friday.

“I’ve been told members are dealing with graduations in the next 48 to 72 hours so my expectation is that we’ll be in Sunday night with a long, long week ahead of us,” Zalewski said. “I’m not going to call it today, that’s my sense … I would need a lot of people in the building to do that.”

He said the amendment would be called first before the rates when it comes up for a vote.

Republicans complained about the process and the lack of transparency.

“I was bullied this morning in Revenue committee,” said state Rep. Margo McDermed.

She said the Republicans were not told the rates proposal was going to be called in committee and that her questions of various people testifying were cut off.

“What does this say about your confidence in this policy, in this measure, when the only way that you can get it through to the floor of this house is by engaging in legislative tricks and shouting down the other side,” McDermed said. “It doesn’t speak well of it, you're better than that. Stop the bullying.”

Zalewski said the rules were followed and that the committee hadn't adjourned all week. McDermed said the procedural move effectively meant that people weren't given notice about the details of the hearing and didn't have a chance to file witness slips in support or opposition to the measure beforehand.

"This was not properly posted in a way that we had notice and that people had the opportunity to post witness slips," she said.

The proposed amendment's final hurdle is the House vote. If it passes there with a supermajority, which Democrats have, it would then be ready to be certified for the general election ballot in 2020.

The progressive tax is a key part of Pritzker’s agenda. He says it’s necessary to tax wealthy earners more to help stabilize the state’s finances with billions in extra revenue from taxpayers.

Republicans and business groups have said increasing tax rates to as much as 7.99 percent those earning over $750,000, as the proposal would do, punishes success. They also said the progressive tax won’t bring in as much revenue as anticipated and will lead to lawmakers pushing higher rates further down the income bracket, affecting small businesses and the middle class.