 Senate
President John Cullerton blamed the House. Other lawmakers
said Gov. Pat Quinn should have done more. House Democrats pointed
at House Republicans, and vice versa. Some officials insisted
various parts of the package dragged down the whole thing.
Lawmakers were at a loss to explain how to achieve their goal of
resurrecting the $250 million package.
"Good question. I honestly do not know," said Rep. David Harris
of Arlington Heights, the top Republican on the House Revenue
Committee.
Uncertainty over the tax legislation means uncertainty over the
future of three companies threatening to leave Illinois unless they
get a break on taxes: financial firms
CME
Group Inc. and
CBOE Holdings Inc. and retailer
Sears Holdings Corp.
The package, which bombed 8-99 in a House vote Tuesday, offered
about $85 million in tax relief for the financial companies, which
run commodities exchanges and argue they should not be taxed on
electronic transactions that don't involve Illinois-based buyers or
sellers. It also would have renewed a tax credit worth $15 million
to Sears each year for the next decade.
CME Group refused to comment on the legislative impasse or the
company's future in Illinois. The head of CME has pushed for
lawmakers to take action this year rather than letting the matter
linger until the Legislature's spring session.
Sears executives said they hope a compromise could still be
reached, but that the clock is ticking.
"Our timeline for making a decision about our future by the end
of the year has not changed," said Chris Brathwaite, Sears Holdings
spokesman.
The package offered various other general tax breaks for
businesses and some relief for individual taxpayers: a boost in the
personal exemption on income taxes and an increase in the
earned-income tax credit.
That earned-income credit, which reduces tax bills for the
working poor, was demanded by the governor -- and turned out to be a
major sticking point. Some lawmakers want a bigger increase in the
credit in exchange for aiding businesses. Others see the credit as
too costly for a state struggling with budget problems. It could
cost from $55 million to $90 million a year, depending on the size
of the increase.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, said Wednesday that
many Republicans don't think the earned-income tax credit should be
part of the negotiations at all. They see the tax package as a
matter of creating and retaining jobs and don't think the tax credit
helps achieve that.
Cross said Republicans have been talking to Democrats about
setting aside the current version of the tax package and finding
some different approach. Cross said he wants to hear from House
Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, about the next move.
But a top Madigan lieutenant said Cross has to spell out where he
stands.
"My sense is that we need some indication from Tom Cross that he
is willing to support something," said House Majority Leader Barbara
Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat who has been openly skeptical of
responding to companies threatening to leave unless they get tax
relief.
While the legislation failed miserably in the House, it passed
the Senate with votes to spare.
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said his chamber had
done its job. He showed little interest in revising the package to
improve its chances in the House.
"It's up to the House to work out their differences between their
caucuses and within their caucuses," Cullerton said. "They see what
we've done in the Senate. They should look to us as the guide."
[to top of second column] |
Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said the
Democratic governor should have stepped up to resolve differences
between the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
"I think a governor that was a true leader could have," said
Radogno, who supported the Senate tax bill. "What we need is some
leadership here."
Gary Hannig, a former House lawmaker who now works for Quinn,
said the governor was in Springfield for the one-day session on
Tuesday and was working behind the scenes with lawmakers. He said
Quinn will continue to insist on including relief for individual
taxpayers.
The legislation that passed the Senate would have boosted the
earned-income tax credit for poor families to 10 percent of the
federal credit, up from 5 percent. A House version that never came
up for a vote offered just 7.5 percent. Quinn originally wanted 15
percent.
That tax credit for the poor isn't the only sticking point.
Many lawmakers seem to feel that the financial firms make a
credible case for changing the way electronic transactions are
taxed. Some, however, question the need to aid Sears, which has
already gotten 10 years of tax breaks.
Another complication is that the powerful House speaker is not
getting directly involved in negotiations over the tax package.
Spokesman Steve Brown says it's not appropriate for Madigan to take
a direct role, but he won't explain what conflict or concern has
prompted this decision.
More involvement by Madigan, known for his powers of persuasion
and intimidation, might have turned up the pressure for legislators
to work through their differences.
Brown said he expects more conversations between the top Democrat
and Republican on the House Revenue Committee. Brown said he
suspects Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be involved, too.
Emanuel is ready, said his spokeswoman Chris Mather.
"We will do whatever we can to assist legislators to pass
legislation that will both help CME and CBOE stay in Chicago and
provide tax relief for working families," Mather said of her boss,
who has been pushing for the legislation and has a reputation for
burning up the phone lines to lawmakers to try to get what he wants.
In the meantime, everybody waits to see what will happen.
"We don't do predictions," Brown said.
[Associated Press;
By DEANNA BELLANDI]
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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