Naperville tells Quinn no to income tax increase

Naperville's business community on Thursday had a chance to voice its concerns about jobs, taxes and the economy directly to Gov. Pat Quinn.

Some said afterward they believe he can make positive changes while others took issue with some of his plans, specifically his proposal for an income tax hike.

Quinn visited with members of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce as part of the group's Meet the Gubernatorial Candidate series.

He spent about a half-hour behind closed doors with business and political leaders, then gave a 10-minute talk to a crowd of about 50 before working his way around the room chatting briefly with individuals.

Quinn, who grew up in Hinsdale, told the group he understands DuPage County and assured them he wants to help small businesses.

"I want to be the jobs and economic growth governor," he said.

He highlighted some of his priorities, saying the state needs to invest in good roads and bridges, clean water, an improved rail system, energy efficiency and education on all levels. However, he did not go into detail about those plans in the brief talk.

He also touted the $31 billion public works package he signed off on earlier this year and said it will help jump start the economy.

Although Quinn brought up the importance of mending the state's $11.5 billion budget deficit, he did not discuss how to go about doing that. He has previously proposed a two-year individual income tax increase that would bring the tax to 4.5 percent, up from 3 percent.

After his talk, he told the Daily Herald an income tax increase does not run counter to his plans to help businesses.

"You've got to pay the bills," he said. "You've inherited a huge deficit that's owed to a lot of businesses. ... If they don't get paid on time by the state they're in danger of losing their businesses and their employees might lose their paychecks."

He added that families of four making less than $60,000 would see their tax bills go down.

But some chamber members said Thursday an income tax increase would be detrimental to the business community.

Sean Sebold, president of Sebold Capital Management and a member of the chamber's board of directors, said businesses produce jobs, not government and he called an income tax increase a "job killer."

"You think someone is going to bring a business out of a state to our state with a 4.5 percent income tax?" he asked. "What it will also do is drive retirees out of the state."

Pat Benton, president of First Community Bank in Naperville, said Quinn's proposals are about big government and an income tax increase would "be detrimental to the whole state."

"When you're taking money out of the taxpayers' pockets it reduces what's available in a very difficult economy for all the taxpayers of Illinois," he said.

John Schmitt, president and CEO of the chamber, said he was not prepared to comment specifically on Quinn's income tax proposal but that the chamber doesn't typically support tax increases. But he was glad the business community had a chance to share its concerns and called the visit productive.

"He seems to be open minded and progressive," Schmitt said of Quinn. "Because of what his predecessors did to the office of governor he has a tough battle but he's working to restore confidence in the office and I think he'll do it."

Patrick Skarr, the chamber's vice president of advocacy, economic growth and quality of life, said he was glad to hear Quinn talk in the private meeting about pension reform, which tops the city's list of legislative priorities.

"Reforming the public pension system brings some certainty to the state budget," Skarr said. "Absent reforming that system there's no way we can know where it's headed so identifying and making that a priority is important."

The next gubernatorial candidate scheduled to appear before the chamber is state Sen. Kirk Dillard from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Raffi's, 200 E. Fifth Ave.