* Convicted liar Rod Blagojevich went on WLS Radio this morning to criticize the General Assembly for passing a tax hike. Then he said this…

Blagojevich refused to take responsibility that the tax hike was in part due to decisions made during his administration. He said although he did invest funds in health care and education, he didn’t do it on the back of taxpayers, and says he stood up to House Speaker Michael Madigan and other legislative leaders who wanted the tax increase.

How completely clueless can one man be?

Seriously, the mind boggles.

He did nothing to prepare the state for the steep “ramp” in future pension payments. Instead, he did a pension bond program and then “drew down” many of the longterm savings right away. That was just one example of his countless one-off revenue “fixes,” which, when added to his numerous unfunded program expansions, fatally wounded Illinois’ budget as the economy began to dive into the ditch.

He proposed the single largest tax increase in the history of the state - actually, in the history of any state. He claimed this wasn’t a tax hike on “people,” but the Gross Receipts Tax would’ve hit business incredibly hard. If you think corporations are upset with this current tax hike, imagine what they would’ve done if the GA had passed Blagojevich’s. We’d be empty by now.

And he “stood up” to Madigan by engaging in a needless, endless war which stopped all progress on literally everything while the national economy nosedived.

Yeah. He was “Mr. Responsible” alright.

What a freaking crock.

* Mayor Daley has also refused to make any really tough choices about his own budget, which is why he’s leaving city finances in such incredibly sorry shape as he slinks into the history books…

Mayor Richard Daley today predicted the increase in the corporate income tax rate passed by state lawmakers overnight will prompt a quiet exodus of jobs to neighboring states.

“Businesses don’t have press conferences like this and announce they’re moving 50 people out, 60 people out, 70 people,” Daley said.

Daley doesn’t like tax hikes, and I agree with him. There will definitely be some upset corporations in this state and undoubtedly millions of unhappy residents.

But what Daley prefers instead is one-time revenue pops like selling off assets, including parking meters, and then spending all the money right away. He, like Rod Blagojevich, is leaving his successor with a truly gigantic budgetary mess, which will require deep cuts and almost assuredly some new taxes that Daley refused to raise.

*** UPDATE *** From a Carol Moseley Braun press release…

Illinois lawmakers are set to raise the income tax rates from 3% to 5%; the first income tax hike in two decades is set to take effect immediately. In a desperate early morning attempt to fix the state’s budget crisis during a lame-duck session, lawmakers agreed to a 66% income tax increase. The increase means an Illinois resident who now owes $1,000 in state income taxes will pay $1,666 at the new rate. Chicagoans stand to pay for the increase, but are not guaranteed to see that money come back to the city as a “local share” provision was not implemented in the bill. Under the current tax structure, municipalities receive a share of income tax revenue. Today, mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun came out against the income tax increase because it will have an especially adverse effect on Chicago’s working class families without allocating additional money to Chicago.

The current tax structure guarantees that 10% of income tax revenue will go to municipalities to help defray operating costs. 10% of the 2% increase is not guaranteed to return to municipalities. All of the revenue from the tax increase will go to the state’s general fund because the proposal fails to include a “local share” provision for cities. The provision would have provided Chicago with an additional $280 million from 2011 to 2015, $140 million from 2016-2025, and $70 million from 2025-onward.

“While I understand the state has a structural deficit, Chicagoans are being forced to pay this extra income tax, and we have never gotten our fair share of state revenues. This bill is extremely flawed. It takes from Chicago without giving back. It offers no property tax relief, no additional revenue for public safety or Chicago schools. Chicagoans deserve to have their income taxes support their city, their public schools, their police officers and firefighters.” said Moseley Braun, “As Mayor Washington’s floor leader, I ensured that money from Chicago got back to Chicago. As mayor, I will make sure that we no longer send our money to Springfield and get nothing in return.”

It’s understandable that local governments are not happy with being cut out of the pie. But a bigger tax hike to get them a “fair share” would’ve been very, very tough, if not impossible. And if the tax hike didn’t pass, they would’ve been in danger of losing some, most or maybe even all of their current revenue share cash. The Tribune editorial board has repeatedly demanded that current revenue sharing be cut in half.

The locals will now be paid in a more timely matter. That chronic lateness was causing a lot of hardships. They should feel fortunate to get what they’re getting, frankly.