Rooney says he favors new GOP proposal
Thursday, Jun 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sen. Rooney filed a bill to repeal the state’s Prevailing Wage Act, so he’s no liberal Republican…
With the end of the Fiscal Year only weeks away, Senate Republicans joined their House colleagues to unveil a comprehensive, balanced budget proposal this week urging Democrat leaders to come back to the negotiation table, take up bipartisan compromise once more, and pass a balanced budget before Illinois enters its third-straight year without a budget.
Senator Tom Rooney (R-Rolling Meadows) issued the following statement after the Republican’s compromise package was introduced:
“Illinois’ budget impasse should have been resolved before lawmakers left Springfield on May 31, but instead the Senate-majority passed an unbalanced budget that Republicans cannot support, walked away from the table and said their work was done. However, our students deserve equity, our taxpayers need relief and our businesses need our help. Our state deserves and demands better,” stated Rooney.
“This budget compromise gives lawmakers a chance to come back to the table, pick up where we left off before partisan politics took control and pass a balanced budget. We have a compromise before us that provides cost saving pension reform, equitable school funding, lasting property tax relief, real workers’ compensation reform, and a balanced budget plan that helps bring about the stability that has evaded our state for almost three years. The time to act is now, we just have to take the steps to work together and finish what we started months ago.”
* But…
Not all Republican lawmakers were on board with the new plan. State Rep. David McSweeney said he could not support the tax increases included in the package.
“Raising taxes will kill jobs and hurt Illinois families,” McSweeney said. “We should focus on cutting spending.”
McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, said Illinois will spend $4 billion more in the fiscal year that ends June 30 than it ever did under former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.
“We need to address the two biggest items in the budget, pensions and Medicaid,” McSweeney said. “It’s business as usual.”
* And from the Illinois Policy Institute…
Republican state lawmakers announced the newest attempt to solve Illinois’ budget crisis June 14. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office said he’d sign the plan into law if it passes unchanged.
Like the “grand bargain,” the Brady plan, and Senate Democrat’s budget before it, the GOP plan relies on $5 billion in new tax revenues because it includes no meaningful spending reforms.
But this new plan is even worse than previous budget proposals because, according to the math, the tax hikes aren’t even necessary to balance the 2018 budget.
The Republican plan caps spending at $36 billion for the year. Compared to the latest revenue estimates from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or COGFA, that would leave just under a $5 billion budget deficit for 2018.
However, if you look at the GOP’s walk-through, you’ll see most of what’s not included in the institute’s estimate, namely transfers out, debt service and repayment of old bills, which total $4.35 billion alone.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 10:28 am:
=“Raising taxes will kill jobs and hurt Illinois families,” McSweeney said. “We should focus on cutting spending.”=
People love to here about cutting taxes. I mean I do when it comes to mine.
But the absolute incontrovertible truth is there is no evidence that cutting taxes increases jobs or leads to economic growth.
Kansas and Minnesota would be perfect examples of why McSweeney is wrong.
Paying your bills owed to businesses can help spur growth though. Especially when the bills are $14 billion and climbing.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 10:30 am:
JS Mill, not to mention that Illinois cut its personal income tax rate by 25 percent on January 1, 2015.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 10:34 am:
Revenue is a 1,000% required element, necessary for every single budgetary proposal.
It’s not up for discussion, it’s not up for debate, it’s not even a theory.
Revenue is not a “give”, a bargaining chip, a sweetener, a luxury or a deterrent.
Anyone (McSweeney included) who refuses the honesty of math isn’t an actor in this looking for an honest solution.
- Roman - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 10:35 am:
Jim Durkin and “Rauner’s office” have said the governor will sign the House GOP proposal.
But Bruce Rauner had not said that.
- Galena Guy - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 10:37 am:
Thank you Rich. People tend to ignore the percentages.
- SDFGsd - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 10:43 am:
Once again, show me the MOU signed by the Gov. That needs to be a pre-condition for any votes.
- DuPage - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 11:01 am:
Repeal prevailing wage = Rauner’s dream.
- IRLJ - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 11:01 am:
Has Rauner himself, personally and publicly, said what Durkin and the Superstars say he said?
- Nick Name - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 11:07 am:
Can we assume that the IPI is saying what Rauner really things, as was the case with the Grand Bargain?
- OurMagician - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 11:12 am:
What needs to be cut David McSweeney? Other than the obvious, Chicago of course.
- Ginhouse Tommy - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 11:15 am:
All debate about the budget and compromises is worthless unless the Governor signs it. If he vetoes any budget then is back to square one. At the end of the day he still has the final say and that is a big roadblock.
- Nony - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 11:25 am:
McSweeney isn’t exactly a benchmark for Republican support on the issue. There’s no realistic plan that he would support period.
- Chicago 20 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 12:07 pm:
Rauner being the astute business man that he is, first cuts the income taxes 25%, then buried the State in debt, refused to submit a balanced budget, is now comfortable with an agreement that spends billions more than the available revenue and wants to float billions in bonds to finance the difference only after pushing the State’s credit rating to junk status.
It’s criminal.
- Truth Squad - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 12:22 pm:
As a Republican who does not like tax increases, I’d like Rep. McSweeney to join us here in comments and show us his specific list of $8 billion in cuts.
It takes both sides to meet in the middle.
- anon - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 12:25 pm:
Somebody please expose how phony the senate dem and the gov’s budget plans really are–civic federation and civic committee think they are both at least 2b out of balance–the cuts are absolutely phony and if you think state gov’t ops can take another 5% cut and universities a 10% cut you must be out of your mind–I know everybody wants a deal but these plans solve nothing.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 12:33 pm:
===can take another 5% cut and universities a 10% cut===
The cuts are from the last fully funded budget in FY 15. That’s actually a huge increase from what they’re getting now.
- anon - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 1:05 pm:
well, I wouldn’t use what they are getting now as any measure of what universities can afford to be cut in FY18–they have been through their reserves–a 10% cut puts them below Fy04 levels. The other “cuts” are from a pension plan that is unconstitutional, shifting $400m in group health to employees–hasn’t happended in 2 years ain’t going to happen in fy18 and the netflix tax is unconstitutional too–if we are going to get real about a deal better shine some light on the fact that 4.95% doesn’t cut it–
- anon2 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 1:57 pm:
=== “We need to address the two biggest items in the budget, pensions and Medicaid,” McSweeney said. ===
Rep. McSweeney, pray tell where you would find $5 billion in constitutional cuts from pensions and Medicaid?
- Ron - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:49 pm:
Illinois has one of the highest state and local tax burdens. There is very little room to increase taxes unless you want to see a mass exodus of people.
- Chicago 20 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:17 pm:
- Ron
“Illinois has one of the highest state and local tax burdens. There is very little room to increase taxes unless you want to see a mass exodus of people.”
We know that Rauner cut taxes and there are reports after reports of people moving out of Illinois.
Yet somehow you claim raising taxes will cause people to move from Illinois.
How can both be true?
- Ron - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:20 pm:
When did Rauner cut taxes? I didn’t even know he could.
- Chicago 20 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 4:45 pm:
Rauner promised that the temporary tax would not be extended and would veto any attempt to continue the temporary tax.
Oct 11, 2013 http://qctimes.com/news/local/government-and-politics/elections/rauner-won-t-promise-tax-details-before-election/article_6bedcf7d-7f51-5621-afee-321047dda516.amp.html
“Illinois’ next governor could face a potential $2.2 billion hole in the state budget if the current 67 percent income tax increase is allowed to expire on Jan. 1, 2014. Rauner and his fellow Republican rivals — Bill Brady of Bloomington and Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale — would veto an extension of the tax.”
The question I asked still remains, how can both be true?
- Ron - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 5:25 pm:
Rauner wasn’t governor he couldn’t lower taxes.
People are leaving because we have one of the highest state and local tax burdens in the nation and a political class led by Madigan that seems hell bent on destroying the state. Our job growth is anemic due to high taxes, horrible regulations and high cost of doing business. We have a pampered public workforce that gets protections that the vast majority of Illinoisans don’t get. And we have generally bad weather.
- Chicago 20 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 7:57 pm:
So the sun rises in the morning because of high taxes and then falls in the evening because of high taxes?
Are you just repeating Republican talking points here and just can’t see the illogical and contradictory projections and conclusions you are repeating?