 What that increase would be, however, is still a moving target.
State Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, said that after hearing
input from other House members, there is a tentative plan to reduce
the original 75 percent personal income tax increase to 66 percent.
He said the corporate tax increase originally outlined would be
lowered, too. Both increases would end after four years.
The taxes would be used to pay off debt incurred to pay down the
state's backlog of bills and make this year's pension payment.
If the state doesn't do something along the lines of a tax
increase, it could be next to impossible to borrow money in the
future, according to Mautino.
"We're looking at a structural deficit, where before the end of
next year, the state will be out of money, and that has strong
implications on our bond ratings. Folks, we're one step above junk
(bond rating) right now," he said.
Making the changes helps move the increase forward, Mautino said.
He added the caveat that no matter what, a tax increase would never
be easy to pass.
Sen. President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, floated the original
tax increase plan last week, and Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago,
confirmed Monday that lowering the increase has been talked about on
the Senate side, too.
But in order to pass the increase, Republicans would have to put
down votes, something they have so far said they are not willing to
do.
Cullerton said the plan to address Illinois' deficit would
originate in the House, but so far any action on that side hasn't
resulted in any legislation.
While the House was in Monday afternoon, it went for long
stretches without any action. Republican Ron Stephens took the
opportunity to lash out at Democrats.
"You have terrified us, the taxpayers of Illinois by talking
about a huge, huge historic income tax increase, expansion of
gambling, legalizing marijuana, change in the death penalty. All of
these issues, some of which you've dealt with, but most of which,
the ones that mean the most to the taxpayers, we have yet to
address," Stephens said.
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Fellow House Republican Jil Tracy said the timing is off for a
tax increase. She added that tax increases scare off employers and
jobs, the opposite of what needs to happen right now. Cut spending
to deal with Illinois' fiscal problems, Tracy said.
"I think there is a tremendous amount of cuts we can make within
government structure, and I think there is great deal of waste," she
said. "And I truly believe we need to do an assessment of so many
things in state government and look for cost-saving measures there."
A new General Assembly is sworn in at noon Wednesday, and with it
comes a larger number of Republicans in both chambers. The shrinking
number of Democrats would likely make it more difficult to find the
votes needed to make the tax hike a reality.
Cullerton said everyone is aware of the ticking clock.
"I think people know that we're still in session, there's a
proposal out there that we're still working on," Cullerton said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]
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