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.
“Today we acted on principle and stood up for the taxpayers of Illinois,” said Assistant Minority Leader JoAnn Osmond (R-Antioch). “With thousands of people out of work and struggling to afford their families’ daily needs, an income tax hike is the wrong policy to solve our budget crisis during this time of economic hardship.”
Echoing those sentiments, State Rep. Sandy Cole (R-Grayslake), noted how the income tax plan failed to address the needs of families and the challenge of creating new jobs. “When I talk to people in my district, they reinforce how important it is that we focus on creating jobs and expanding economic opportunities for our families,” Rep. Cole said. “The state budget should reflect the same tough choices and financial realities that our local families’ budgets face every day. The state must learn to live within its means.”
State Rep. Mark Beaubien (R-Wauconda), the House Republican budget negotiator, stressed how an income tax increase would cripple both families and businesses alike:
“An income tax increase would probably not even have brought in as much revenue as predicted because people would have voted with their feet and moved to states with a lower tax burden,” Beaubien said. “A tax increase would have proven to be a disincentive for hard work. If you thought our economy was in trouble now, just imagine the effects of a tax increase. Our state is already ranked in the bottom rung of states for its horrible business climate. A tax increase would probably have made us the worst. I am pleased that the tax increase failed and that we can get on with the necessary belt-tightening,”
Adding to those sentiments, State Rep. Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein) highlighted the need for Illinois to reform its spending habits and focus on pro-growth economic policies:
“Increasing income taxes would not have made Illinois’ budget woes disappear. In fact, it would have only exacerbated the problem because it would encourage more wasteful spending,” Rep. Sullivan said. “We need to fix our spending habits, instead of giving a blank check to those who got us in this mess. With unemployment at 9.4% and climbing, a tax hike would have harmed our middle class and hurt our economy.”
