SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Pat Quinn revised his tax increase plan Wednesday to try to pick up new support, but it did little to sway suburban lawmakers who - if they don't outright oppose higher taxes - said the state hasn't trimmed enough to warrant them.

"The rest of the state is suffering. We've got the highest unemployment in recent history. Many employers aren't matching 401ks. There's layoffs, furloughs. There's real pain," said state Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat. "Our government is living in a real fantasy. There have been no real cuts in spending. We have not even acknowledged we are in a crisis."

Quinn's latest version still calls for a 50 percent increase in the individual income tax, raising it to 4.5 percent from 3 percent. The key difference from the tax hike he unveiled back in March is that he's scaling back the tax relief in the proposal, an indication of the state's fiscal realities and need for money to balance spending.

The new version could generate upward of $4 billion compared to the $3.2 billion under the governor's initial plan. The added money comes from scaling back tax breaks Quinn said would shield many families from the increases.

Instead of tripling the personal exemption to $6,000, the new version increases it just $1,000 to $3,000. Quinn's new version calls for doubling the earned income tax credit and doubling the property tax credit. The effect would be to concentrate most of the tax relief on poor families.

Quinn spokesman Bob Reed said the latest version "preserves the blueprint for tax relief and fairness that Governor Quinn is seeking with his reform budget."

Quinn met with lawmakers in his Capitol office Wednesday pressing the budget and other top issues. Democratic leaders had hoped to bring some Republicans over to help approve a tax increase to balance out the nearly $12 billion deficit, but interviews with suburban members of both parties suggests few have been swayed.

"It's really still a nonstarter for me. I think this will cost more people in the state their jobs," said state Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican. "They've asked us to vote to support tax hikes to dig out of a hole we've been warning about all along."

State Sen. Michael Noland, an Elgin Democrat, gave Quinn credit for taking a tough stand on balancing the budget.

"This is not a popular thing to do to suggest that we increase taxes. But he's been willing to do this and I think the public is giving him credit for that. They may not necessarily like what they're hearing, but they really believe that he is doing what he truly believes needs to be done," Noland said.

But Noland also said he's not ready to support higher taxes.

"Before we talk about increases we need to first start looking toward how we can perhaps reduce spending in various departments," he said. "There are still yet some programs that can be reapportioned or scaled back."

Other suburban lawmakers had similar responses.

"The fundamental problem with the budget is that there is not one iota of reform. When you have a budget and you keep asking for revenue sources, just manipulating the little credits and gadgets, there is no reform," said state Rep. Sandy Cole, a Grayslake Republican.

In another blow to Quinn's budget ideas, the House voted to make the full payment to the state's retirement system rather than trim it by billions as the governor had suggested.

But House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, said there was little support among his members for reducing that payment, which can add billion more in costs over future years.

•Daily Herald news services and staff writers Dan Carden and Nicole Milstead contributed to this report.