Posted on 07/07/2017 12:20:59 PM PDT by TigerClaws
ILLINOIS BUDGET Illinois has 1st budget in 2 years, includes 32 percent income tax increase Email EMBED More Videos
The Illinois House voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's vetoes of a budget package, giving the state its first spending blueprint in more than two years. Updated 1 hr 52 mins ago SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois House voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's vetoes of a budget package, giving the state its first spending blueprint in more than two years and ending the nation's longest fiscal stalemate since at least the Great Depression.
Thursday's action eases some financial woes, but it's fueled by a permanent 32 percent increase in the income tax rate, raising $5 billion more annually, and it reduces spending by more than $2 billion.
Illinois is staring down a $6.2 billion annual deficit and $14.7 billion in past-due bills.
Lawmakers, culminating two straight weeks of a special session that began ahead of the July 1 start of the fiscal year, approved the bill to raise taxes by a 71-42 vote. A plan to spend $36 billion in the fiscal year that began July 1 was OK'd 74-37. An override requires 71 votes.
"Today, Republicans and Democrats stood together to enact a bipartisan, balanced budget and end a destructive, 736 day impasse," House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, said after the votes Thursday. "I want to thank you all for your perseverance through this unbelievable struggle."
It turned out to be bigger struggle for 67 House Democrats than in the initial tax-increase vote Sunday. Madigan, who next year will become the longest serving state House speaker in the nation's history, had to call upon previously reluctant Democrats to keep the veto-override supermajority intact.
Fifteen Republicans voted "yes" on Sunday. On the override vote Thursday, only 10 pressed their green buttons. Madigan had to rely upon four of his own members who had voted against the tax hike on Sunday.
The override votes were critical for both sides with an election for governor - Rauner already faces several Democratic opponents - and much of the Legislature in 2018.
The income tax increase means individuals will pay 4.95 percent instead of 3.75 percent. The corporate rate jumps to 7 percent from 5.25 percent.
Rauner rejected the budget plan because he saw no indication that the Democratic-controlled Legislature would send him the "structural" changes he's demanded. Those include a statewide property tax freeze, cost-cutting restrictions on compensation for injured workers, changes to pension benefits for state employees, and reforms making it easier for voters to merge or eliminate local governing bodies.
Instead, the vote to override is "another step in Illinois' never-ending tragic trail of tax hikes," Rauner said in a statement.
The budget "is not balanced, does not cut enough spending or pay down enough debt, and does not help grow jobs or restore confidence in government," the governor said in a statement. "It proves how desperately we need real property tax relief and term limits."
The standoff had effects statewide. Road construction work was shutting down. Public universities, cut to the bone, face a loss of academic accreditation. The United Way predicted the demise of 36 percent of all human-services agencies in Illinois by year's end.
The situation is "immoral," said GOP Rep. David Harris of Arlington Heights.
"There's no joy in voting for a tax increase," Harris said Thursday. "But how long can this impasse go on? We are looking into a financial abyss. The state is imploding financially."
Credit-rating houses threatened to downgrade the state's creditworthiness to "junk," signaling state debt purchases as highly speculative venture. Two agencies gave Illinois some breathing room Monday after the weekend tax vote.
But on Wednesday, a third credit-rating agency, Moody's Investors Service, put Illinois under review for a downgrade even if lawmakers reversed the veto. Despite progress, the package does not address the state's $130 billion unfunded liability in employee pensions or do enough to pay down bills, Moody's said.
"This budget is junk," Rep. Allen Skillicorn, an East Dundee Republican, said before the vote. "Illinois currently has unfunded pension liability of over $100 billion. This budget, these massive tax hikes, don't address that."
Voting was delayed for several hours as authorities investigated a report of a woman throwing a powdery substance in the governor's office. Springfield city Fire Marshal Chris Richmond said powdery substance that prompted a hazardous material investigation was collected from several locations on the second floor, including the governor's office. Rauner was not at the Capitol.
One person was taken into custody, said Dave Druker, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's office, which oversees Capitol security.
On Thursday night, the Illinois Lottery announced that Mega Millions and Powerball sales would resume due to the budget's passage.
Illinois Lottery Acting Director Greg Smith said players can again buy tickets either online or at retail locations.
And never even any relief in sight as the City of Chicago is the tail that wags the dog in Illinois with its huge gimmedat population and obliging politicians.
No state income tax in Florida, a decent state legislature, good prices on everything workmen-wise (no unions!), no sleet storms...etc. etc....and we have 3 FR chapters in the Sunshine State!
A relative of mine is moving from Illinois to Florida in 3 weeks...and 3 more Illinois-born kinfolk are planning to move within this year.
Y'all come down here, folks, we need more conservative infiltration in our state, LOL.
Leni
I’m a little surprised they didn’t go after the farmers with property tax increases.
At least there’s no sales tax on food.
It is only a matter of time. They probably will “nationalize” their farms.
“Illinois’ total debt: 155 billion.”
Illinois has about 13 million people, so the per capita state debt is approximately $12,000
The Province of Ontario has about 14 million people and its total debt is $304 billion, or over $21,000 per capita. The per capita debt of the Province of Quebec is almost $22,000.
As bad as America’s most liberal states are financially, they pale in comparison to what’s happening in Canada. But keeping running after single-payer health care and you’ll soon join us in this madness.
I grew up in Chicago and lived in the area for over 50 years. A lot of Chicagoans are not that liberal, particularly compared to cities like New York, Boston, Portland and Seattle.
They bought into the notion that if you worked for and supported the Democratic Party, you could get an easy, high paying job. That third world model worked until other people’s money ran out.
Right you are, why stop at 32%, 90%? They will never stop.
Sales Tax on Food is 1%. But Illinois is increasing the exempt list - any food that is considered “prepared” now gets hit for the full sales tax rate.
That is until they move to a Red State when their job gets moved. Then they will vote for more of the same crap.
They had a choice of tightening the belt or tightening the noose......they chose the noose.
Michigan has a balanced budget amendment, which has caused some pain over the last ten years. But the pain at least came in small doses, and the state is fundamentally solvent. With the exception of Dem run enclaves like Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, etc.
CC
STAMPEDE!!!
MI isn’t billions in debt?
so our legislature, one house rat, one house pub, finally put together enough tax increases to fully fund education..(teachers don't get enough time off nor money nor bennies....NOT!)
the pubs got some tax relief for industry...all they wanted was that other manufactories in the state would get the same tax benefit that Boeing gets ..the exact SAME amt...
but our leftist governor after all this was passed used the line item veto to punish the other manufactories....
as long as rats control everything, taxes will always go up, special interests will always get the biggest bite of the apple..
rats are vote cheats and in their little domains they can change the entire state vote by their little shenanigans...
it happens here in Washington state all the time..
As I often say, I’m a Republican because A) it’s the home of anyone who believes in 2A, first and foremost, and B) I believe in fiscal sanity. And there is approximately =zero= fiscal sanity left in the Democrat party. It is all too rare in the Republican party, but it does exist.
Illinois currently stands as strong evidence for my B) position. This ongoing slow motion train wreck will continue for years. Not giving these guys a bailout, which they will be asking for soon, is a strong reason to work hard to maintain Republican control of the Presidency and Congress.
its still true...if you support the "party" you get the govt jobs which are basically not really jobs at all...
but a govt only needs so many lackys...what are the rest of us to do?...
the civil was is between the non workers and the workers....
The only problem is, Illinois residents will flee the state and like locusts, settle in red states like Oklahoma. Then they'll infect those states and eventually turn them into clones of Illinois.
The New Whigs the do-nothing Repubbies cannot undertake to restore healthcare-freedom... undertake to write an annual budget, forcing them at the last minute to accede to a continuing resolution i.e.: raising the deficit every year. That results in raising the debt ceiling - the biggest public scam since the ponzi scheme. Why a scam? Because servicing the debt is the #1 obligation of the USGvt - SO - IF they don't raise the debt ceiling then some USGvt giveaway will have to be cut. TRAGIC, eh?
As the Trade Federation rep said to the Viceroy in Star Wars - Phantom Menace: We will not survive this.
The Dem controlled cities are, the state itself isn’t.
CC
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