Quinn to suburbs: Someone's got to pay

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Pat Quinn offered no apologies to the suburban families who'd be hit by his proposed income tax increase, saying someone's got to sacrifice in these times of economic turmoil.

"I think the principle is as old as the Bible. Taxes should be based on ability to pay," Quinn told reporters Tuesday after briefing Democratic lawmakers on his budget plans. "I don't want to take working people who are making a very modest income and tax them into poverty. That's not fair. That's not just."

The budget he'll officially unveil today at noon would ask smokers, drivers and many Illinois workers to pony up more money to eliminate an $11.6 billion deficit and launch a construction spending program that could provide money to several suburban districts waiting years for state building aid.

Quinn will ask the General Assembly to increase the income tax rate to 4.5 percent from 3 percent, bringing in $2.8 billion more. He wants to increase corporate income taxes by $350 million.

Quinn says he sees his changes as a reform of state taxes, rather than just an increase. A family of four making no more than $60,900 would see a tax cut, he said. And he wants to offer parents a sales-tax holiday for back-to-school purchases this summer.

"I grew up in the suburbs," said Quinn, a Chicago Democrat who was born in Hinsdale. "There's all kinds of people that live everywhere in Illinois. Five million people under our plan will receive tax cuts - lower taxes. I think we need to lower taxes on people who are most vulnerable to this recession to help them out, to get through, and to also have consumer purchasing power drive our economy forward.

His top tax official said roughly half the nearly 5.7 million income tax filers in Illinois would come out ahead, which means the other half won't.

"Reducing the tax burden on moms and dads who are raising kids and living from paycheck to paycheck, giving them a sales tax holiday for buying school supplies, as well as an income-tax cut, holding the line on a gas tax increase, I think those are all good things for families," Quinn said.

In addition to higher income taxes, Quinn will seek a $1-per-pack increase in the tax on cigarettes, which now stands at 98 cents a pack.

Quinn would start a long-awaited, $26 billion statewide construction plan with a $20 increase for license plates, up from $78, and doubling the $10 price of a driver's license to pay for roads and bridges. Mass transit construction would get a boost from an increase in the vehicle transfer fee and local construction spending would be financed by not sharing $287 million with local governments.

Schaumburg Village Manager Ken Fritz said the state move toward possibly cutting local governments out comes as many communities are struggling with their own budgets and could "exacerbate the problem." But Quinn budget aides said several suburban schools that were long ago promised state construction dollars would get top priority for any new spending. Statewide, nearly two dozen districts are owed roughly $150 million for projects they either completed and never got state help or were unable to finish because state money ran out.

Local districts on the waiting list include Winfield Elementary District 34, Carol Stream Elementary District 93, Villa Park Elementary District 45, Westchester School District 921/2, Big Hollow School District 38, Northbrook Elementary District 27 and Westmont Unit District 201.

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

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/statebudget2009.pdf">2009-10 State budget document </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/illcapprojects.csv">Capital projects list </a></li> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=279816" class="mediaItem">Quinn to suburbs: Someone's got to pay <span class="moreDate"> [03/18/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=279768">Quinn wants to up driver fees to fund construction <span class="date"> [3/18/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=279770">Quinn using tax breaks to soften increase<span class="date"> [3/18/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=279696">Will state tax hike make economy worse?<span class="date"> [3/18/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </ul> </div> </div> </div>