46 Comments - Anonymous - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 9:57 am: Count on him raising the income tax. His budget depends on it. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 9:58 am: Does the Rauner Crew want to point out counting and numbers? Bruce Rauner couldn’t name ONE company that created IL jobs. Not one. Maybe Rauner and his Crew should work on letters or symbols, numbers, not so much. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 9:59 am: To the video, It’s snarky fun. It’s 100% valid. How Rauner plans to pay for his budget is snarky fun too. - AC - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:00 am: If Rauner were to win, a tax championed by a lame duck governor would be the best Christmas gift ever. - anon - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:00 am: Were Quinn to lose, it wouldn’t much matter what he would want. What benefit would there be to Democrats to raise the income tax with no GOP votes? It wouldn’t make political sense for Democrats to bail out Rauner while taking all the blame. Quinn should stop being evasive about something so predictable. - Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:01 am: Where’s the dodge? He said it’s in his budget. - Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:01 am: Where’s the dodge? He said it’s in his budget. - OneMan - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:01 am: I think a modified version of that is going to end up being an ad and not a bad one at that… Seems to me it would be easy for him to say, no if I am not reelected I am not going to push to make the increase permanent. Knowing full well Madigan is not going to let Rauner avoid wearing the jacket for that… - truthteller - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:02 am: And what will Rauner cut if the tax is not extended? Isn’t that a fair question to ask? Rauner better hope that Quinn gets the income tax extended if he loses. All that “waste in government” he’s talking about is a tiny fraction of Rauner’s b.s. - Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:05 am: We need more income tax money. So we can give you back more property tax money. Sheer genius. - Demoralized - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:05 am: ==Count on him raising the income tax. His budget depends on it.== If Rauner were honest he’d say the same thing. - Ducky LaMoore - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:06 am: Rauner is out there saying he wants to extend the income tax increase. The tax is set to go to 3.75 in January. So… Isn’t he pushing for a tax increase too? Seems like a typical Rauner attack….. - Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:07 am: A budget book, a budget address, repeatedly saying we need to keep revenue levels the same. Quinn is hardly being evasive on the campaign trail. In fact the first “dodge” the Rauner campaign cites is Quinn saying, “I laid out a budget, the budget called for the income tax rates to be maintained.” - Wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:08 am: Why doesn’t Quinn just say “I’m not going to lose because the people blah, blah, blah…..?” As far as signing a lame-duck extension if he lost — that’s crazy. Why would he do that? I don’t get the point Rauner is trying to make. - Del Clinkton - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:10 am: Rauner has said repeatedly he will raise the income tax. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:13 am: ===As far as signing a lame-duck extension if he lost=== That is wishful thinking on Rauner’s part. Not going to happen. If Quinn loses, Madigan and Cullerton are going to make Rauner get on his knees and beg them to raise taxes. And he’d better bring the House and Senate GOP caucuses along too, he’s going to need all of those votes on his tax hike bill. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:16 am: === Madigan and Cullerton are going to make Rauner get on his knees and beg them to raise taxes. And he’d better bring the House and Senate GOP caucuses along too, he’s going to need all of those votes on his tax hike bill.=== Rauner owns the Caucuses. Rauner owns the State Party. Retaliation will be the order of the day. MJM & Cullerton will require loads of GOP votes. Not many will be safe. - RNUG - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:24 am: Rauner got his sound bite moment on taxes. But Quinn missed an opportunity. He should have said: “I’m not going to lose, so the question doesn’t apply. But if I were to lose, it would be Rauner’s problem to make his budget add up without additional revenue.” - walker - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:24 am: ===Count on him raising the tax. His budget depends on it.=== So does Rauner’s. No question about it, if arithmetic is any guide. (And if we insist on calling the extension of current rates “raising the tax.”) - Louis G. Atsaves - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:24 am: At a breakfast meeting with 6 others, everyone is convinced that post election the lame duck session will make the expiring income tax permanent. All recalled 4 years ago when Quinn asked for 1 pct and took 2. Rauner’s reminders of jobs to lame ducks 4 years ago was brought up. Consensus: why vote to reelect “sneaks.” That being said, all were baffled over the job creation Rauner whiffed on. Between the two, unanimous votes against “sneaky” post-election lame duck actions as bein more egregious than that of whiffing on job creation. Quinn hurt himself on the trust issue last night and may pay a price for that. - MrJM (@MisterJayEm) - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:25 am: “If Quinn loses, Madigan and Cullerton are going to make Rauner get on his knees and beg them to raise taxes.” 100% correct. – MrJM - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:25 am: As Rich has said, Rauner’s rhetoric is going to make it more difficult for him to govern if he wins. Stupid stuff like this isn’t helping. The fact is, Rauner’s budget plan, such that it is, relies on raising the income tax back to 5%. It’s remarkably disingenuous to attack Quinn for a secret plan to raise taxes when Rauner has the exact same secret plan. - Arizona Bob - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:28 am: Rauner COULD say something like: “I believe that we need to do a better job of ensuring that state education dollars go where they benefit the students, NOT the fatcat bureaucracy. Recently, Hinsdale High school district staff were ready to go on strike because one third of their teachers are ONLY making $127,000 for 180 contact days. We first need to prohibit public strikes to stop such taxpayer abuse, and direct dollars to where they’re really needed, NOT to give raises to educrats already making $127,000 for a short work year.” - walker - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:30 am: All facts and rationale aside, this attack will work on Quinn. As Rauner’s crew knows, many voters will wrongly assume they are talking about Quinn increasing the taxes from where they are today. - Chicago Cynic - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:30 am: Amen 47. - Arizona Bob - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:31 am: He COULD also say: “It’s time we stopeed overpayiing for public construction in Illinois. I’ll work to repeal the “Prevailing Wage act in Illinois so that taxpayers pay fair arket rates for construction in Illinois, not giving sometimes DOUBLE the compensation, and contractor profit on labor, just becasue the taxpayers are paying the bill!” - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:33 am: - Arizona Bob -, Take it up with Hinsdale. Local control. Free market. They want those teachers, they will pay for those teachers. So you are against collective bargaining? - How Ironic - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 10:56 am: @Arizona Bob, Have you talked with parents in Hinsdale? I graduated from there years ago, and the community LOVES the school, and the teachers. One of the higest performers in the state. You think they want the bottom of the barrel, low cost educators? No. They want the best, and the population is educated enough to know that the best cost money. If the schools were crap, it would be a different issue. But they are not, and it’s a non-issue. For you they may be ‘overpaid’. But for the parents gearing their children up for Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the like…it’s the best money ever spent. - Walter Mitty - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 11:05 am: Politicians saying anything to get elected… Weird. - Norseman - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 11:14 am: Well saids to RNUG and 47. - A guy... - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 11:17 am: Slinger, you are asking precisely the right question;”Why would he do that?” re: PQ passing a tax hike, to replace the expiring one. Having Quinn utter “If I lose…” has some value, but why would he pass the tax increase to continue the same rate we have now? I don’t know the answer to this, but I’d sure like to know. - OldSmoky2 - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 11:23 am: One, anyone who’s been paying attention knows Rauner has already said that the income tax will need to be at 5 percent next year, no matter who wins. Two, why in the world would Quinn say vote for the other guy and I’ll let your tax rate go back down? That’s a non-starter politically. Three, Quinn at least has been consistently honest about his support for a 5-percent rate. Rauner doesn’t seem to be able to be consistently honest about anything. - OneMan - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 11:30 am: Those calling Arizona Bob out… I think the argument could be made that Rauner could (but wouldn’t say) You know if you want to pay your teachers 127K more power to you. However, it is indicative of system that leaves too many behind. So if you want to pay your teachers that much, more power to you. However do not expect the state of Illinois to cover that pension payment, If you are paying more than x% above the state average for the same tenure and education to your teachers the local district will have to cover this difference. This will allow us to provide more assistance to those areas where there are not million dollar homes all over the place… Then afterwards look forward to people bringing up Prep again… - PolPal56 - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 11:38 am: =Rauner doesn’t seem to be able to be consistently honest about anything.= Heck, I’d settle for consistently consistent! - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 11:44 am: ===, If you are paying more than x% above the state average for the same tenure and education to your teachers the local district will have to cover this difference. This will allow us to provide more assistance to those areas where there are not million dollar homes all over the place…=== Until the formula negates property taxes, then the idea of location becomes moot. I thought the free market should decide. I thought elected school board members face the voters if the make mistakes. Why work to be better or teach better if you are going to be paid the same no matter where you teach? What do you offer better teachers to stay or come to your district? It’s the formula of property taxes and elected boards and free market and collective bargaining. Micro. Pensions and the funding formula and property taxes and member contribution(?) and workplace choice bad advancement. Macro - Sir Reel - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 12:03 pm: I get why Quinn won’t answer about what he’d do in the lame duck session if he loses. Just saying, “If I lose …” diminishes him. He could have said, “I’m not gonna lose.” - Bettlejuice - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 12:07 pm: Quinn is the ultimate flim flam man. - Angel's Sword - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 12:09 pm: Chicago Cynic, Exactly right. He answered the question, while still managing to avoid giving Rauner a soundbite he could use in an ad. That was why he worded it the way he did. It was a fine answer. - anon - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 12:30 pm: == (And if we insist on calling the extension of current rates “raising the tax.”) == There is little doubt the 5% rate will expire Jan. 1st as scheduled. Consequently, any increase in the rate thereafter, even by a few days, would fairly count as an increase, whether it happens due to Quinn or Rauner. - Distant Viewer - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 12:32 pm: Isn’t this a loser for Rauner? It means even if he wins, one of the most important reasons he thinks we should vote for him isn’t relevant. Seems like a dumb argument. - Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 12:46 pm: == Quinn is the ultimate flim flam man == You mean a bumbling former patronage chief isn’t the ethical guy who == always does the right thing == as he pretends to be? - Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 12:50 pm: I agree with much of what has been said, and I like the idea of playing the What Should Quinn Have Said Game. Here’s mine: “Bruce, if you were to win on the crazy idea that you can raise spending across the board AND roll back taxes, what in the world makes you think a tax bill would even get to the floor of the General Assembly?” - Mighty M. Mouse - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 1:05 pm: ===Chicago Cynic, Exactly right. He answered the question, while still managing to avoid giving Rauner a soundbite he could use in an ad. That was why he worded it the way he did. It was a fine answer.=== And a lot better than the answer Quinn gave to the same question in the last debate which resulted in a sound bite which Rauner was able to use in an attack ad. - A guy... - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 4:37 pm: Um, Mighty, go to the top of the thread. There’s an ad. here. about this time. If we can talk about the minimum wage, you know, what we aspire for everyone to earn (gack), for month after month, isn’t it ok to beat any dead horse that doesn’t move? - Mighty M. Mouse - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 7:56 pm: === I learned long ago to finish off the opposition=== I’m quoting myself, but my point is that Quinn is doing the same thing, only using the minimum wage as one of his clubs, and Of COURSE he just keeps on beating Rauner with it, figuratively speaking, BECAUSE IT’S WORKING. He is nicer about it than I am. Quinn is more about mercy and my focus is on justice, but we both make sure to finish ‘em off. - Anony - Tuesday, Oct 21, 14 @ 8:54 pm: Reality check: Including Illinois, 33 states have an income tax with a top rate of at least 5%. Only four states with an income tax have a top rate less than 4.5% (IN, MI, ND, PA). The two Midwestern states in this category have labor participation rates below that of Illinois, according to the Tribune. The two Midwestern states with labor participation rates higher than Illinois have top income tax rates of 8.98% (Iowa) and 7.65% (Wisconsin). http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/ind_inc.pdf Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.