Pat Quinn Plans for the Future
By Kevin Robinson in News on Mar 19, 2009 2:20PM
Pat Quinn gave his first State of the State address Wednesday, addressing directly the gaping budget hole Illinois faces, and making his case for raising taxes and cutting the budget in what is quite possibly the biggest economic crisis the state has faced in generations. “Our state is staggering to pay an $11.5 billion deficit, and we have a mountain of unpaid bills. The Illinois economy is also in crisis. Unemployment is rising. Our people are hurting,” Quinn said Wednesday. As Quinn talked about a mix of tax increases, budget cuts and changed in the benefits that state employees enjoy, legislative leaders acknowledged that tax hikes were likely. "It's very likely that we'll have to have an income-tax [increase], but the form that it takes, the amount the exemptions would be, are all negotiable—and only after we've done the cutting the governor's talked about," Senate President John Cullerton said. But those increases won't happen until the general assembly sees both the budget cuts and government reforms that Quinn has promised.
Among the proposals Quinn made yesterday were asking state employees to pay more for their health care and retirement, and taking four furlough days a year. He's also proposed creating a new advisory board to scour the state budget, line by line for savings. That includes combining or outsourcing services, such as janitorial and food services that can be done by the private sector at a better price. But what appears most alarming is Quinn's proposal to increase the state income tax from three percent to four and a half percent. Illinois has a flat income tax system, something that Quinn can't change without rewriting part of the state's constitution. Among the seven states that have a flat income tax, Illinois's is currently the lowest. Raising it puts us in the middle, between Pennsylvania (3.07 percent) and Massachusetts (5.2 percent).
To offset those increases, Quinn is proposing tripling the current $2,000 personal deduction and instituting a 10 day sales tax holiday in August, to offset back-to-school spending. He also wants to combine state funds with federal funds for the first state-wide capital construction program in nearly a decade. The "Illinois Jobs Now" program, which would pump $26 billion into state construction projects, supporting some nearly 340,000 jobs across the state, with an additional 155,000 jobs in related industries.
While some GOP leaders liked Quinn's proposal for a state construction project, they weren't too excited about tax increases. Both House Minority Leader Tom Cross and Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno want to see deeper cuts in spending before asking Illinoisans for a tax hike. Forcing those changes might not be easy, though. Taking a page out of the Barack Obama playbook, Governor Quinn painted a picture of hard choices now for a stable and bright future to come. Claiming the mantle of change and reform, Quinn challenged detractors to come up with their own plan, putting the onus of a balanced budget and responsible spending on opponents of his budget:
If you reject needed revenue increases to balance the budget, then you must tell the people of Illinois what you will do instead. ... Some will argue for a doomsday budget that simply cuts state sp[ending... in a mean-spirited way... without any reforms. So if you propose a doomsday budget, then tell us what programs you would eliminate to save 11 and a half billion dollars and balance this budget. Put it out there for all to see and hear. Saying 'no' is not enough... unless you are willing to speak the truth and offer real alternatives.
No state lawmaker offered specifics on changes they'd like to see in the budget.