Most local lawmakers say raising state taxes is not an option

SPRINGFIELD - Facing a nearly $11.6 billion deficit, Gov. Pat Quinn is calling for an income tax increase, but most local lawmakers instead say everything should be on the chopping block and hitting families up for more money is not an option.

"None whatsoever," state Rep. Randy Ramey, a Carol Stream Republican, said of tax increases. "I came here as a conservative. I'm not going to vote for any tax increases to pay for their (Democrats') extravagant spending."

In his budget address on Wednesday Quinn is expected to back raising the income tax to 4.5 percent from 3 percent but increasing personal exemptions to $6,000, a move he says will result in lower tax burdens for a family of four making less than roughly $59,000. But it is a tax increase for those making more.

His budget plan calls for cutting nearly $1.3 billion in spending, but aides say it spares and actually increases funding for education, health care and social services.

With crucial tax and budget decisions approaching, the Daily Herald's Springfield bureau sought out all 47 lawmakers who represent the paper's circulation area, a region stretching from Naperville's Will County neighborhoods north to Lake County. The representatives and senators were asked two key questions:

• Do you have a financial sacred cow you think should be spared from budget cuts?

• Could you see yourself voting for a state sales or income tax increase?

If something is to be spared the budget ax, the most often named items were education and spending on social service agencies that provide therapy and treatment on behalf of the state to the developmentally disabled, mentally ill and those suffering from addiction.

"That, to me, we can't touch that. There's just no way," said state Rep. Fred Crespo, a Hoffman Estates Democrat. "If anything we need to find a way to fund those programs. These folks don't have any options. They have nowhere to go."

"I think everything should be on the table. However, I'm very sensitive to education and services for kids with disabilities. DD (developmentally disabled) facilities really are in no position to be experiencing a cut. They're barely staying above water. And education is very important to me. You have to be a little more thoughtful about it. I think those are two areas of priority that I would be reluctant to cut," said state Sen. Dan Cronin, an Elmhurst Republican.

Senior programs, an annual favorite of lawmakers everywhere, also were recommended to be shielded from cuts.

Others, however, said let the ax fall where it may.

"I think the entire budget process ought to be blown up. It's designed for failure," said state Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat. "There should be nothing sacred. Every line item should be defended. There are no sacred cows."

"I don't think there are any sacred cows in an economy like we have and in a budget shortfall we have," echoed state Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr., a Mundelein Republican.

Yet numerous lawmakers said solving this budget problem through cuts alone isn't politically realistic, particularly under Democratic control, and they long suspected a tax hike like the one Quinn's proposing.

Embracing tax increases has rarely been viewed a good political move and if suburban lawmakers weren't flatly saying "no" to the idea, most tended to say they'd consider taxes as a last resort.

"It would be very difficult, very difficult," state Sen. Mike Noland, an Elgin Democrat said when asked if he could support tax increases. "But like I say, everything is on the table. We've got a $9 billion deficit ditch that we're stuck in and we've got to pull ourselves out of."

Some, however, said the state's going to have to come up with money somehow and taxes - in addition to cuts - have to be part of the discussion.

"I see myself both cutting and voting for revenue increases, because to get over $10 billion it is impossible to do it without both," said state Rep. Mark Walker, an Arlington Heights Democrat. "Honestly, anybody who says otherwise is simply not telling you the truth."

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