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Quinn: Tax plan should include property tax relief

BLOOMINGTON -- Gov. Pat Quinn offered a new twist Wednesday in his plan to raise income taxes, while Senate candidates Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk split over inheritance taxes and family farms.

Quinn, speaking to agriculture leaders, said his proposal for an income tax increase would lead to lower local property taxes. Pressed afterward on how that would happen, Quinn said he would seek legislation requiring schools to reduce property tax bills before they could get additional state support.

"I think it should be mandatory," the Chicago Democrat said. "I think if the state helps local schools with more money ... it also means cutting local property taxes."

Quinn hasn't previously linked an income tax increase to property tax relief.

Giannoulias, the Democratic Senate nominee, also spoke to the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable and said he supports keeping the estate tax -- or "death tax," as critics call it. But the Chicago Democrat says he would exempt family farms worth less than $10 million.

He said people should not be forced to pay a tax bill by selling property that has been in their family for generations.

Kirk opposes the estate tax and accused Giannoulias of wanting to have it both ways by backing the tax but trying to shield farmers.

"I would just ask, why would you just exempt the family farmer and not exempt family owned businesses in Illinois that happen not to be in farming?" said Kirk, R-Highland Park.

Quinn hammered his Republican opponent, Bloomington Sen. Bill Brady, for proposing to cut education funding. He said that would mean fewer jobs, worse schools and greater reliance on property taxes.

In contrast, Quinn said, his tax plan would generate $3 billion for schools and reduce property taxes. Eventually Quinn acknowledged he wants to force schools to cut local taxes. If they have to cut as much as they gain from the state, schools would be left with no increase in available money.

Other tax plans that have been discussed in Springfield include a "tax swap" but generally in the form of credits to lower each family's overall bill. Forcing schools to lower property taxes appears to be a new twist.

Brady said his initial reaction to Quinn's proposal is that it wouldn't make sense. "It sounds like a bunch of smoke and mirrors," he said.

Brady also denied his plan to cut education funding would mean fewer teachers and larger classrooms.

"Choices have to made at the local level. Teachers don't have to be laid off," said Brady, who says he can close a $13 billion budget deficit without raising taxes but hasn't provided details.

The two Senate candidates agreed on one issue: giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to order recalls instead of leaving the decision to manufacturers. Both Kirk and Giannoulias said they are inclined to support the idea, which has been winding its way through Congress and is getting new attention after a massive egg recall.

Kirk, while dinging Giannoulias about his estate tax answer, offered some contradictory answers of his own.

Asked for his position on proposals to limit antibiotics in farming, Kirk told the crowd antibiotics are an example of the "Yankee ingenuity" he supports. Afterward, he was asked about scientists' concerns that overuse helps develop drug-resistant bacteria and Kirk said he would be open to restricting them.

Kirk also defended his reversal on "cap and trade" environmental legislation, which he once supported and now opposes. He told farm leaders that he now thinks the bill would be bad for Illinois jobs.