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 Quinn acknowledged Tuesday that he will propose tax breaks when he
speaks before a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate. He
would not provide details but said it was part of a focus on helping
people find work.
"That's foremost on the minds of everyday people in our state,"
Quinn said Tuesday in Chicago. "We have to have robust economic
growth and jobs in order to be a good state."
His proposals will include letting businesses reduce their income
tax bills by up to $5,000 if they hire an unemployed veteran,
according to a person familiar with the Democratic governor's plan.
The person was not authorized to discuss the proposal before Quinn's
speech Wednesday and would speak only on condition of anonymity.
Quinn's plan calls for giving businesses a credit equal to 20
percent of the wages they pay to a veteran, up to a maximum credit
of $5,000. Currently, Illinois offers a credit of 10 percent, up to
a maximum of $1,200.
Quinn has also made clear that he'll propose tax relief targeted at
families, although he hasn't offered any specifics.
His State of the State address follows a dire report earlier this
week that said Illinois' backlog of unpaid bills could nearly
quadruple -- from $9.2 billion to $34.8 billion -- over the next
five years unless officials take action. The Civic Federation's
report predicts pension and health costs will continue to climb,
while revenues will drop when the state's temporary income tax
increase expires.
Quinn said he will discuss the state's budget troubles, including
his goal of cutting the state's Medicaid and pension costs. But
details on those issues will wait until his budget proposal is
released Feb. 22, he said.
Quinn said Tuesday that focusing on jobs and economic growth is the
only way to a better budget. He called it a "very provocative
document that will challenge the members of the General Assembly to
show political courage to do important things that have to be done
on our budget to make sure our state is strong."
Calls for tax breaks are likely to meet opposition from lawmakers
who think the state's focus should be on strengthening the budget,
not chipping away at revenues. Illinois Democrats took the painful
step of raising income taxes a year ago and last fall softened that
blow with an array of breaks for businesses and families. Some
officials are skeptical of further tinkering.
"We would be most interested in hearing how that could be paid for,
given our current fiscal condition," said Rikeesha Phelon,
spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago.
Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat who chairs the House Revenue
Committee, expressed similar concerns. He said the focus should be
on broad tax reform instead of new credits here and there.
Quinn also plans to call for the creation of a council of business
leaders to come up with a plan to double Illinois exports by 2014,
the administration said, confirming news first reported by Crain's
Chicago Business.
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Quinn's tax proposals aren't likely to carry high price tags. An estimate on the cost of the veterans credit wasn't immediately
available, but the Revenue Department said a smaller version has
rarely been used. Only 95 taxpayers claimed the credit, for a total
cost to the state of $79,543, in the most recent year for which data
is available. That was 2008-09, when the credit was 5 percent of
wages, up to a maximum of $600, the department said.
Quinn played down concerns about the cost of tax credit.
"You can't just cut your way to a better budget. We have to make
cuts, there's no doubt about it," he said. "We also have to build
and grow our economy."
His remarks came as he highlighted two startup companies that are
receiving money from a state venture capital fund that's part of a
$78 million program called Advantage Illinois. The companies
benefiting are Chicago-based Buzz Referrals, which uses social media
to help companies create customer referrals, and Evanston-based
AuraSense Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company.
Quinn said both are examples of job creators helped by the state. He
said the state also played a role in a jobs announcement expected
Thursday at the Chrysler plant in Belvidere. The company's new car,
the Dodge Dart, is being built in Belvidere.
Danny Chun, spokesman for the Illinois Hospital Association, sought
to link the issues of jobs and Medicaid cuts. He said state
officials should be cautious about taking money away from hospitals
because they are one of the few parts of the economy creating jobs.
Chun claimed hospitals, directly and indirectly, account for 425,000
Illinois jobs.
"That's a huge part of the economy," he said.
[Associated Press;
SOPHIA TAREEN]
Associated Press writer Christopher Wills in
Springfield contributed to this report from Springfield.
Sophia Tareen can be reached at
http://twitter.com/sophiatareen.
Christopher Wills can be reached at
http://twitter.com/chrisbwills.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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