* Tribune editorial board…

In a perhaps unprecedented move, Senate President John Cullerton and Republican Leader Christine Radogno will present to their members a proposal that’s like a Jenga game — remove one cube and the whole thing collapses. […]

Without analyzing each Jenga cube, we’re on board with the idea of nudging the fragile tower forward. We agree with Radogno’s description of this proposal — at this point in Springfield, it’s this something vs. everyone else’s nothing. Waiting for a more critical development, a more perfect policy package, a less painful strategy, hotter pressure from bond markets or constituents, would only continue the status quo.

Is a “do something” strategy the ideal way to proceed? Not even close. There are 100 reasons senators could collapse the Jenga tower. Perhaps most difficult to swallow will be the proposed tax hikes, which include an increase in the personal income tax from 3.75 to roughly 5 percent, along with a new state tax on sweetened beverages. Those proposals could change; the tax hike bill, along with many of the others, is not the final product. […]

But we agree with Radogno that at this point, given this sorry state, what she and Cullerton are doing is something vs. nothing. If passed in the Senate, it will put pressure on Madigan’s House and on Gov. Bruce Rauner to react.

The most interesting part of that editorial was in its description of our current environment as the “status quo.” The Trib has formerly relegated that phrase to the decades before Gov. Rauner was elected. So, is that an admission that we’re now in a whole other realm? We’ll see.

The editorial also concluded with the admonition that it was waiting to see all the bills before issuing its final opinion. So, things could change.

* The Daily Herald’s editorial board issued a very similar opinion…

As to the grand deal itself, we can say this: We appreciate the political courage Cullerton and Radogno are displaying in putting the state’s interests above their own, risking the political fallout from special interests and partisans.

We are not ready, at least not yet, to sign onto the entire proposed 13-point proposal that would include a significant increase in the state income tax and an expansion of legalized gambling. We do, however, agree without reservation with many aspects of the plan — a property tax freeze, the leadership term limits, workers’ compensation reform.

And it is clear that Illinois is not going to solve its significant problems and rebuild its reputation, is not going to stop the exodus of families and businesses fleeing the state, unless our two parties work seriously together in a spirit of cooperation and compromise.

No matter anyone’s positions on the proposed grand deal, the two Senate leaders deserve everyone’s thanks for their willingness to put themselves on the line.

* But the Northwest Herald is having nothing of it…

We’ve got to hand it to Senate leaders; they don’t discriminate. Their proposal is equally bad for middle class wage earners and business owners.

“The Senate budget proposal is an absolute disaster,” Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, said. “Raising the income tax rate by 32 percent, or even up to 40 percent, would crush taxpayers.

“We need to cut spending, not raises taxes. This would be the final nail in the coffin of the state of Illinois. … We lost 115,000 people [to outmigration] last year. This will drive even more people out of the state. …”

We urge state senators, including Sen. Pam Althoff, R-McHenry, and Sen. Karen McConnaughay, R-St. Charles, to reject this plan.

* And the Sun-Times doesn’t want radical changes in the workers’ compensation insurance component…

One way to cut costs without further reducing worker benefits would be to give the Illinois Department of Insurance the authority to ensure workers’ comp insurance companies aren’t getting excessive profits. That’s a safeguard that already exists in many other states.

Setting workers’ comp benefits at a reasonable level can help Illinois’ economic competitiveness. But Illinois shouldn’t expect to have lower workers’ comp costs than its neighbors. Part of the formula for calculating workers’ comp premiums is the total amount of employer payrolls. Because Illinois has higher average incomes than adjoining states, it can’t expect its workers’ comp rates to be lower.

Cullerton and Radogno are pushing for a bipartisan solution to a political impasse that has forced Illinois to stagger along without an annual budget for more than a year and a half. We support that effort. We also trust they can get the job done while preserving a fair workers’ comp system.

* Related…

* Phil Kadner: Small ray of hope for fairer school funding in Illinois