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In 2003, three former Maytag engineers launched R Cubed
Technologies after the Maytag Galesburg plant was closed. R Cubed
provides information technology products, solutions and services for
research, education, government, manufacturing and business. The
company currently has five full-time employees and two part-time
employees. Four of the full time-employees are covered by a very
basic insurance plan that costs the company almost $1,600 per month
($19,200 per year). Blagojevich's proposed Illinois Covered Choice
will allow them to receive much more comprehensive insurance with
lower deductibles and more items covered for approximately the same
price. It will make insurance affordable for the fifth full-time
employee, who is currently on his parents' insurance but with
coverage is about to expire.
"R Cubed Technologies is like so many small businesses across our
state. They work hard; they create jobs and contribute to their
local economies; and they're paying their share of state taxes to
cover important services. But too many small-business owners can't
afford to get health coverage for their workers, and sometimes even
themselves, and so every time someone gets sick or hurt, they worry
that it could jeopardize the very business they've worked so hard to
build. That's wrong," Blagojevich said. "We have an opportunity to
help small businesses -- the backbone of our great economy -- have
an easier time. By making sure wealthy corporations are paying their
fair share of the tax burden, we can make sure R Cubed Technologies
employees are able to get health insurance."
"Small businesses like ours are the backbone of the economy, and
we've been paying the price for a disproportionate tax system that
has put us at a competitive disadvantage for far too long," said Ed Rockhold, chief executive officer of R Cubed Technologies. "We need
to level the economic playing field here in Illinois, and Governor
Blagojevich's plan is going make sure everybody is playing on the
same level, while significantly improving education and access to
health care. That is great news for our company and the entire
Illinois economy."
For small businesses like R Cubed Technologies, the Illinois
Covered plan will make it affordable to provide health insurance for
their work force. The primary components of the governor's plan
include:
Creates an affordable,
comprehensive insurance plan that anyone without employer-sponsored
health insurance in Illinois can purchase. This statewide pool of
coverage will offer Illinoisans lower and stable rates.
Small-business owners can also purchase this product to cover their
employees.
Illinois Covered
Rebate: Lowers premiums for moderate-
to middle-income Illinoisans ($20,000-$80,000 for a family of four)
to help them afford their health insurance. The rebate will vary
based on income, and those with lower incomes would get a larger
rebate.
Illinois Covered
Assist: In a plan similar to
FamilyCare and Medicaid, individuals or couples who are very
low-income (individuals currently making less than $10,210 annually
and couples making less than $13,690) will now have access to full
coverage through the state.Also included in the governor's budget proposal is Helping Kids
Learn, which continues the governor's commitment to schools by
boosting funding by an unprecedented $1.5 billion in fiscal 2008.
Under the plan, general state aid to schools will increase by more
than $800 million, raising the foundation level by $724, to $6,058.
With more funds per pupil, schools can improve textbook quality,
modernize their technology or invest in teachers. The plan also will
increase funds to hire special education teachers and fully fund
"mandated categorical" programs like special education and
transportation. The plan will accelerate implementation of Preschool
for All and dedicate additional resources for school districts that
provide full-day kindergarten. Underperforming school districts will
get extra funds if they invest in proven strategies that raise
student achievement. And the plan will invest in a capital
construction plan to replace or rebuild deteriorating schools.
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 The governor proposed a major reform of Illinois' corporate tax
system in order to provide sustainable funding for education and
health care. In Illinois, the share of state revenues coming from
individual income taxes instead of corporate income taxes has
consistently increased during each of the last three decades. To
reverse that trend, Blagojevich unveiled a Tax Fairness Plan in his
budget address earlier this year.
Many large corporations pay little or nothing in corporate income
taxes, and they are not paying their fair share to meet the state's
ongoing infrastructure, education, health care and public safety
needs. Blagojevich's plan takes historic steps to change the
Illinois tax structure -- one of the most regressive and unfair to
working families in the nation. According to the Illinois Department
of Revenue, 37 of the 99 Fortune 100 companies that filed taxes in
Illinois paid no state income taxes, despite the fact that they
averaged $1.2 billion in sales during 2004. On average, 48 percent
of corporations that generated $50 million or more in annual sales
in Illinois paid no income taxes from 1997 through 2004.
The governor's Tax Fairness Plan implements a gross receipts tax,
which has been embraced by many economists because of its broad base
and low rates. States including Washington, Delaware and Hawaii have
had a gross receipts tax for years, and Ohio and Texas have recently
adopted a form of the tax. The gross receipts tax will apply only to
businesses that make more than $2 million each year, which means 85
percent of all businesses in Illinois will be exempt. The gross
receipts tax will tax service industries at a low 1.95 percent rate,
while manufacturers, construction, retail and wholesale companies
will be taxed at an even lower 0.85 percent. Exports will not be
taxed. By excluding certain goods, such as retail food and
pharmaceuticals, the plan also mitigates costs being passed on to
consumers.
Under the governor's plan, large corporations that pay little or
no state taxes now -- many of which can afford luxuries like
multimillion-dollar bonuses for top executives, private jet service
and huge entertainment budgets -- will finally pay their fair share
so children can get a better education, homeowners can enjoy
property tax relief, and small-business owners like Fred Stefan can
afford health coverage.
R Cubed Technologies is also a client of Blagojevich's Galesburg
Entrepreneurship Center, one of 18 statewide centers helping
entrepreneurs and small-business owners develop into greater market
successes. In 2003, the governor created the Illinois
Entrepreneurship Network to strengthen the state's capacity to
develop small businesses into market successes and help
entrepreneurship act as a more dynamic engine of growth. Over the
past four years, through the Illinois Entrepreneurship Network, the
governor has invested nearly $47 million that has helped small
companies generate almost $2.56 billion in government contracts and
international sales and secure more than $525 million in financing.
The network has provided counseling and training to more than
160,500 clients across the state. R Cubed Technologies received a
$5,000 matching challenge grant from the Galesburg Entrepreneurship
Center to assist with the marketing of its technology products,
solutions and services. It also was a regional finalist in the
governor's 2006 Innovate Illinois small-business challenge.
The 18 entrepreneurship centers statewide, which make up one
vital component of the Illinois Entrepreneurship Network, provide
expertise and grant funding to entrepreneurs and small businesses to
help generate greater growth. The centers have awarded more than
$2.4 million in matching challenge grants to 446 companies, which
has leveraged another $267 million in investments.
[Text from file received from the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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