 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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