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 In an interview with The
Associated Press, Quinn said he planned to speak next week with
lawmakers about passing an unbalanced state budget that includes
significant spending cuts. Then, in November, he would ask lawmakers
to choose between balancing the budget by cutting even further or by
raising taxes.
"There's a fork in the
road here. When we come to that time, the decision will have to be
made," the Chicago Democrat said. "My own view would be that we
should pass revenue and not have cuts that are harmful to the public
interest."
Illinois faces a budget
deficit of roughly $11.6 billion, the worst in state history. The
governor had proposed filling that by cutting spending and
increasing income taxes to 4.5 percent, up from 3 percent now.
But Republican lawmakers,
along with some Democrats, balked at the proposed tax increase. The
Legislature ended up passing a budget that slashed spending by
billions of dollars. It protected education and Medicaid from most
of the cuts and focused the reductions on state grants -- such as
payments to local groups that provide child care, drug treatment and
counseling for abuse victims.
Quinn vetoed that
measure, saying it offered "scorched-earth" spending levels for the
state's sick and needy.
His move Friday to back
off the proposed tax increase is the latest in a series of
compromises Quinn has made as he struggles with lawmakers to reach a
budget agreement. Already, he has abandoned efforts to collect more
pension money from government employees, dropped his demand the tax
increase be permanent and backed away from threats to slash human
services if lawmakers approve roads, bridges and schools.
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"We want everyone to
understand that jobs, jobs and jobs are our mission," Quinn said.
Legislative leaders
indicated they would consider Quinn's new proposal, saying they were
glad to see him bend on his tax demand.
"Of course I think we
need to hold off because I think there's a whole lot we need to do,"
said House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego.
His latest budget
proposal isn't all that different from what the Legislature passed
and he vetoed. Many lawmakers said that stripped-down budget
provided money to keep government operating and could be revised
later if officials came to some agreement on boosting revenue.
Without providing
specifics, Quinn said his new budget would propose spending less
money than his original proposal but more than lawmakers had
approved.
Between now and November,
officials could study ways to cut spending for Medicaid, pensions
and other programs. Quinn said that would demonstrate that leaders
are serious about cutting costs wherever possible and provide time
to see how initial budget cuts -- including 2,600 state layoffs -- are
working. Then lawmakers could make a more informed decision about
whether to raise taxes.
[Associated Press;
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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