IL Joins Growing Group Of States Pushing For Trump Tax Returns Release Before 2020

Illinois’ Democratic majority state Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would require any presidential candidate in 2020 to release five years worth of his or her tax returns in order to appear on the state’s presidential ballot, joining a growing multi-state push to pressure the release of President Trump’s taxes.

In Illinois, the measure passed the senate in a 36-19 vote on Thursday and will head to the Democrat-controlled House for consideration.

“Voters have a right to know a presidential candidate’s conflicts of interests,” the bill’s co-sponsor, Illinois state Sen. Tony Munoz, said in a statement. “They have reasonably expected this disclosure for decades, and if candidates won’t release the information willingly, then we need a law in place that requires it.”

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s office did not immediately return TPM’s request for comment about whether he intends to sign the bill into law if it passes the House.

Illinois joins the 18-plus state legislatures that have, in the past two years, considered bills that would require the public release of tax returns for presidential candidates, an effort primarily aimed at Trump’s refusal to release his returns. Just this week, Trump told reporters he would “love” to release his taxes, but he wouldn’t do it while he’s under audit. An IRS audit hasn’t stopped previous presidents from making them public.

Democrats in the U.S. House formally requested Trump’s tax returns last week, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has waffled on whether he intends to comply with their request, telling lawmakers on Wednesday that he wouldn’t be able to meet their requested deadline.