Quinn Wants to Keep 2011 Illinois Tax Increase as Part of 2015 Budget Proposal

Deborah Bayliss | As of Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn announced last week that Illinois’ 2011 income tax increase would remain in place as part of his proposed $36.8 billion Fiscal Year 2015 Budget plan.
Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn announced last week that Illinois’ 2011 income tax increase would remain in place as part of his proposed $36.8 billion Fiscal Year 2015 Budget plan.

In 2011, Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn signed what was supposed to be a temporary tax increase where Illinois income taxes were raised from 3 to 5 percent and was supposed to drop back down to 3.75 percent after four years. However, the Gov. announced that Illinois’ 2011 income tax increase would remain in place as part of his proposed  $36.8 billion Fiscal Year 2015 Budget plan.

“I’m here today to propose not only a budget for the next fiscal year, but also a five-year blueprint that will secure Illinois’ long-term financial future. I will be forthright and specific with you. Illinois is in a stronger financial position now than we were five years ago. We’re also in a position to invest in our schools because the future of our economy depends on the quality of our education, ” Quinn remarked.

“We slashed wasteful spending. We re-negotiated numerous contracts with our state vendors. We reduced office space by 2.4 million square feet. We cut the use of paper, pagers, landlines and cell phones, saving millions for taxpayers. We also did the hard things to drive down the cost of operating state government. We closed and consolidated more than 50 state facilities. We overhauled our Medicaid program, rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. We made hard choices to reduce Medicaid spending. We reformed our worker’s compensation system,” Quinn added.

Quinn spokesperson, David Blanchette told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper that the governor, faced with cutting everything across the board by 20 percent which meant the elimination of programs that primarily would impact minority communities, decided to show political courage and make the tax hike permanent.

“He made the tough choice of keeping the tax hike and the revenue it generated, permanent,” Blanchette said. “He never promised that he wouldn’t reinstate the tax increase . Those who are telling you that Illinois can tax less and spend less are incorrect. Illinois has cut spending by more than $5.7 billion. With revenue generated from the increase, we’ve been able to pay $9.9 billion in overdue bills.”

The $5.7 billion in savings is a combination of closing state mental facilities over the past five years--a point of contention in the African American community who’ve been outspoken on the need for mental health care. Blanchette said the savings also came from fiscal management and budgeting priorities.

“When we close state mental facilities, people receive better care in the community,” Blanchette said, adding there is data to back his claim. “We’ll always need mental institutions for a certain segment of the population, but for the most part people can get better care in their community.”

Families, children and education funding were also key points in Quinn’s budget proposal that included:

 Providing every homeowner in Illinois with a guaranteed $500 property tax refund every year.

 Doubling the value of the anti-poverty, pro-family Earned Income Tax Credit over the next five years to provide tax relief for working families raising children and strengthen our economic recovery.

 New tax cuts to businesses that provide job training.

The Gov. ruled out taxing retirement income, instituting a new tax on everyday services that working people rely on, cutting education funding and instead his proposal calls for:

 Investing $1.5 billion in the Birth to Five initiatives that focuses on prenatal care, access to early learning opportunities and parental support.

 Doubling the state’s investment in Monetary Assistance Program (MAP) scholarships to expand opportunity for students in need to attend college.  

 Modernizing classrooms across the state to ensure every student attends a first-rate school.

“The five-year Blue Print will help us properly fund education and we’re making progress,” Blanchette told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper. “He (the Gov.) inherited a mess and wants to continue but it’s hard to continue if several billion dollars in the revenue that was generated, wasn’t there anymore,” he said.

For more information, please visit Budget.Illinois.gov.

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