Gurnee mayor would raise income tax

Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik says there is a better way for schools to seek more money to pay for construction-related expenses than a 1 percentage point increase in Lake County's sales tax.

Kovarik said the schools instead should support an idea in the state Senate to raise the personal and corporate income taxes while reducing education-related property taxes. The state would boost its minimum per-pupil funding as part of the proposal, commonly known as a tax swap.

Her pitch came Thursday before the Gurnee-based Woodland Elementary District 50 board. Kovarik asked the Woodland board to withdraw its support of a November ballot measure on whether to hike the county's sales tax by 1 percentage point.

Under a new state law, school boards representing 51 percent of the student population of a county are allowed to pass resolutions to put the sales tax referendum question on the ballot. Local county board members can put the tax hike to a vote on their own or at the request of schools.

Sales tax money would help pay for school renovations, architects, new buildings, land acquisition and other construction-related expenses across Lake County. The money also could applied toward paying off debt from previous building projects.

Kovarik said she's backing the proposal for raising the personal income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent. The early stage state Senate plan would hike the corporate income tax from 4.8 percent to 8 percent.

Education-related property taxes would be reduced by 20 percent. The minimum state funding level for schools would be boosted to $6,004 per student in the beginning, along with $1 billion being placed in a fund annually for capital projects.

Woodland board member Lawrence Gregorash said the Senate proposal has been considered only at the committee level and might not go anywhere. He said the sales tax idea already is a potential revenue source.

"We have to take the (sales tax) option," Gregorash said. "This is the only thing we have on the horizon."

District 50 board member Mark Vondracek said he doubted the tax swap would bring in new money like a 1 percentage point increase in Lake County's 6.5 percent sales tax. He said more special education space and gymnasiums are among the needed construction projects at Woodland that would benefit from the county sales tax increase.

"I don't think it's a secret," Vondracek said. "We absolutely need revenue."