SPRINGFIELD – Dealing a blow to Governor Pat Quinn and top legislative Democrats seeking approval of a massive income tax hike, the Illinois House of Representatives has voted decisively to reject a budget blueprint that would have increased the state income tax rate on individuals and businesses without providing any property tax relief. Instead, the General Assembly approved a partial-year piecemeal budget to keep state government operating through the end of the year without addressing a staggering budget shortfall.The House voted down a plan advocated by Governor Quinn to raise the income tax rate by 50% on individuals (from 3 to 4.5%) while boosting the corporate income tax rate to the maximum allowed under the State Constitution (from 4.8 to 7.2%). Needing 60 votes for passage, the Quinn income tax plan failed by a margin of 42-74-2.
The Lake County Republican delegation to the Illinois House responded to the Democrat leadership’s hurried attempt to pass a budget mere hours before Sunday’s deadline and expressed resolve in their shared commitment not to raise taxes on working families.
