Pat Dollard

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SPRINGFIELD, ILL. The Illinois House overwhelmingly rejected a temporary income tax increase Sunday, moving the state closer to massive spending cuts that critics called a “doomsday” budget.

The House’s Democratic leaders didn’t even try to pass a larger, permanent increase that was approved by the state Senate a day earlier. Lawmakers said there was little support for that plan during private Democratic discussions.

Instead, the House considered a measure that would have bumped the state’s 3 percent personal tax rate to 4.5 percent for two years. House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, said it would have produced about $4.5 billion for a state government drowning in red ink.

The measure failed 42-74, with two “present” votes.

The temporary increase faced opposition from lawmakers who reject any tax increase during a recession and from lawmakers who thought it wouldn’t solve the state’s long-term problems.

“I’m not interested in helping stop the bleeding,” said Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago. “I’m interested in finding out why the patient is bleeding in the first place.”

Supporters of the tax warned that without it, the state will have to slash as much as 50 percent in spending on services to the poor and sick.

“This is not a dress rehearsal, ladies and gentlemen,” said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago. “Voting ‘no’ on this bill would be devastating, apocalyptic even, to the vulnerable people of Illinois.”

Lawmakers faced a deadline on their deliberations. After midnight, passing the budget would require a super-majority, giving the Republican minority new leverage in budget discussions.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn urged lawmakers to support a tax increase to help fill an $11.6 billion budget deficit, the worst in Illinois history.

Even with more tax money, supporters said, government spending would still have to be cut by $2 billion or more in order to balance the budget. Without it, the cuts would hit $7 billion, or about one-quarter of the spending where state government has discretion to make changes.

Lawmakers already have voted to protect most education and health care spending, so most of the cuts would fall on human service programs: community care for the elderly, for instance, or child-care subsidies for poor families.

“We in state government cannot allow innocent victims of budget cuts to suffer because we don’t deal with what we have to deal with. We must have an adequate source of revenue to pay our bills,” Quinn said.

Without an agreement on how to fill the budget hole, lawmakers may simply approve what limited money is available and end their spring session, leaving state agencies to limp along with only a portion of the money they need for the fiscal year starting July 1.

Lawmakers call that option a “lights-on” budget because it would do little more than provide enough money to keep the lights on at state agencies.

Quinn hasn’t said whether he will veto a budget that doesn’t include enough money to operate for the full year.

So far, Republicans have refused to consider a tax increase, saying it would damage the state’s already woeful economy and complaining that they have been excluded from budget talks.

But Rep. Bob Biggins, R-Elmhurst, hinted there could be a thaw Sunday if Democrats share information.
“Things can change around here in 30 minutes,” Biggins said. “If they communicate well during the day, then tonight there could be more complete explanations for things and we could put some votes on some things.”
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The bills are HB174, SB2252.
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On the Net: http://www.ilga.gov

(AP)