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Lawmakers talk taxes during forum, ideas range from progressive tax to lower burden altogether; and more

Written By: Greg Bishop, INN News Reporter

 LAWMAKERS TALK TAXES DURING FORUM, IDEAS RANGE FROM PROGRESSIVE TAX TO LOWER BURDEN ALTOGETHER

Just what kind of new taxes could be in Illinois taxpayers’ future? Several state lawmakers outlined their ideas for tax increases during a forum on Monday.

Democratic state Senator Heather Steans said Illinois needs a progressive income tax similar to how the federal government taxes income. She also said Illinois needs spending cuts alongside more revenue.

“This is not rocket science here in actually solving the budget,” Steans said. “We need some spending cuts and we need some revenue. We’ve got to do both.”

Democratic state Rep. Greg Harris proposed ending corporate tax loopholes, broadening sales taxes to include financial transactions, pulling money from special funds, “potentially rolling back some of the cuts in the income tax (and) moving to progressive taxation in the state.”

Republican state Rep. Tom Morrison said lawmakers should steer clear of taxing a specific group of people.

“The 3,000 millionaires who left Chicago, as it was reported last week, just saying we’re going to tax them more is not going to bring them back,” Morrison said. “It’s going to increase that number.”

Morrison said if increasing taxes alone were the fix, it would have been done already. He insisted on economic reforms the governor has said will help grow the economy and the tax base.

Republican state Rep. Patti Bellock said increasing taxes on a shrinking tax base is the wrong way to go, especially with high property taxes in the mix.

“And so the thing that we have to do is try to reduce the overall tax burden on the people in our state,” Bellock said.

Senator Matt Murphy said he doesn’t like the idea of tax increases but said Republicans, including the governor, will support them if they are part of a good deal on economic reforms to grow the economy.

The forum was sponsored by Truth In Accounting and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

HOUSE APPROVES DECRIMINALIZING LOOSE CIGARETTE SALES
A measure to lessen the penalty for selling loose cigarettes is moving to the Illinois Senate, something supporters said will save taxpayers money.

In July 2014, Eric Garner died after being taken down by police officers in Staten Island, New York. Garner was accused of selling loose cigarettes, commonly referred to “loosies.” That prompted an Illinois lawmaker to propose a bill to make selling loosies a finable, rather than criminal, offense.

Democratic state Rep. La Shawn Ford said House Bill 4212 would decriminalize the selling of loosies.

“We don’t want to incriminate people for a petty act of selling loose cigarettes in Illinois,” Ford said. “We want them to pay the cost for their act.”

Ford said the perpetrator would be fined $50 instead of being arrested and going through the court system, something Ford noted costs taxpayers.

Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives agreed.

“You’re basically saving the individual court time, taxpayers’ court time,” Ives said.

Opponents included some county health departments, the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.

The measure passed the House 60-52 and now heads to the Illinois Senate.

Last year Illinois outlawed the use of chokeholds by police, something else prompted by Garner’s death.

CONGRESSMAN DAVIS: RURAL FAMILIES WILL SUBSIDIZE URBAN TRANSPORTATION IF TAXED PER MILE
Charging drivers a tax per mile would force rural families to subsidize urban transportation, a Central Illinois congressman said.

Illinois Senate Bill 3279 would have Illinois drivers paying road taxes in one of three ways beginning July 2025: Pay a flat rate based on 30,000 miles a year, report miles by reading an odometer or use an electronic location device to track miles.

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Central Illinois Republican Congressman Rodney Davis told WMAY Springfield that taxing mileage will affect families in his district more than families in urban areas.

“My single mom in rural America will be subsidizing those mass transit opportunities for all the others in the urban areas,” Davis said. “I think it’s wrong.”

However, Davis said ultimately it’s up to state governments.

Democratic Congressman Bill Foster of Naperville said in an email: “This type of legislation would be unnecessary if the federal government altered the unfair funding formulas … that return $89 per Illinoisan each year when each Alaskan gets $609.”

Meanwhile, a longtime electric vehicle driver said taxing drivers per mile shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach.

Ted Lowe, the former president of the Fox Valley Electric Auto Association, said he understands that people driving more fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrids or electric cars need to pay their fair share for the roads. But Lowe said taxing people by the number of miles they drive isn’t fair because some vehicles are heavier than others.

“A bicycle can go 10 miles and an SUV can go 10 miles.” Lowe said. “Which one is hurting the road more?”

Lowe said whatever plan lawmakers come up with should be as fair as possible but, “there’s no equitable way to share the earth, right?”

SB 3279 remains in the Senate Executive Committee.

DO ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT JUSTICES MAKE TOO MUCH?
Are Illinois Supreme Court justices overpaid? That’s the question one state senator had for the Illinois Supreme Court during an Appropriations Committee hearing.

State Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-North Aurora, said a recent report from the National Center for State Courts indicates Illinois’ Supreme Court justices are the second-highest paid in the country with a salary of nearly $221,000.

“In looking out a few years, in another 15 to 20 years, Illinois Supreme Court justices could be making more than United States Supreme Court justices,” Oberweis said.

Michael Tardy, director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, said that because Illinois is the fifth-most populous state, he believes compensation levels for justices are appropriate.

“These people have the highest level of legal degrees,” Tardy said. “They have doctorates. They come to the court with years of experience in the bar and years of experience on the bench.”

Oberweis asked Tardy whether justices, as state employees, have a conflict of interest when they rule on issues regarding state employee pay and benefits. Tardy said he wasn’t qualified to comment on that matter.

Meanwhile, an effort to create regional courts to tackle mental health and drug abuse problems is underway.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last week, Tardy said there’s an effort to address the lack of problem-solving courts in some rural areas.

“We’re looking, certainly, at consolidation of multiple county problem-solving courts,” Tardy said. “You can also have a problem-solving docket.”

State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Champaign, said he’s been trying for years to have multicounty problem-solving courts for the rural areas that lack them, but found resistance.

“So I’m glad to see that a decade later we’re going to make some progress,” Rose said.

Problem-solving courts are credited with helping offenders who have substance abuse and mental health issues stay out of Illinois correctional facilities.

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