53 Comments - Anonymous - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:24 pm: I hope they refuse, so that we can have a better tax structure that is more progressive and not only gets our budget balanced, but helps invest in better services. - Blue Dog Dem - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:26 pm: Voted. Refuse and try to kill it. Because as a group, the GOP knows it can balance the budget on the backs of waste,fraud and abuse. - Jibba - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:27 pm: From a political standpoint, they really have nothing to lose by opposing it. Their base and some of the middle ground will buy the idea that we can cut waste, fraud, and abuse and solve the problem. The party of no reappears. - Honeybear - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:27 pm: Negotiate- it’s the only way to truly work towards the temporary better in democracy - JS Mill - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:27 pm: If the ILGOP refuses to actively participate they will regret that mistake. Maisch’s advice is foolish. - Jibba - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:27 pm: BDD, ya beat me to it. - Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:28 pm: What is the point of completing avoiding the process? Even if you are going to try and kill it, at least you can say you tried. As a superminority, you don’t have much to stand on, but go through the motions and maybe you can improve the proposal. If not, at least you did your job. - Anonymous - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:33 pm: They may not like the fact it’s gonna pass but they should at least provide some input and see if they can get some of their concerns addressed. Seems today’s politicians have forgotten its give and take. Your gonna get some things and not others. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:33 pm: Negotiate. The GOP is on the wrong side of this, screaming for tax cuts and then refusing cuts for 97% of us. Do they want to win future elections or are they going to be lackeys of the super-rich anti-tax donors, who are only a few people, and be in a worse political position? They are supposed to govern, which is uncomfortable for those who don’t want to govern much but get mileage by just opposing and screaming from the sidelines, which is easier. - SSL - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:34 pm: I don’t think it would change anything in JB’s plan, so why pretend? The $3.4B doesn’t fix the state, and when future increases are needed, or if it backfires and households in excess of $250,000 start to leave, the GOP can hang it all on JB and Mike. Not saying it is the only way to look at it, but it’s an ugly business. - Retired Educator - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:35 pm: They are going to want a seat at the table on future legislation. It would seem to be in their best interest to engage in negotiations, anytime they can. It is hard to complain, you didn’t have a seat sat the table, if you refuse to pull out the chair. - Professor - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:40 pm: Absolutely negotiate! This state cannot wait upon political games and partisan politics. We have the chance for a fresh start in the legislature, lets not play games. If the Republicans have legitimate concerns - bring them forward - put them on the table. - West Side the Best Side - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:45 pm: Ignore the Chamber and do the job voters hired you to do. - 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:45 pm: Negotiate and address the pension provision going forward in the constitution at the same time. - Sue - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:47 pm: Anonymous- just curious are you in the 3 or the 97 - Anonymous - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:48 pm: Pension fantasy rears its ugly head. Even if you pass an amendment. Even if you pass a law. The benefits can. Not. Be. Reduced. You cannot retroactively write laws. What the heck. - Libertarian - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:50 pm: Negotiate. Its going to pass. Might as well have a seat at the table and try to make incremental improvements. At worst, you can say we tried to negotiate but they wouldn’t listen. Foolish to just walk away and say no. Although the base may not see it that way. - Montrose - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:51 pm: What Jibba said. I would personally prefer they sit at the table and negotiate, but that will only hurt them politically. - wordslinger - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:52 pm: If they want to influence policy, negotiate now prior to a GA vote, and then oppose it when it comes to a citizen vote in November 2020. But I think the immediate objective for GA Republicans is to find a replacement for Rauner Money. He was virtually the sole underwriter of GOP candidates the last four years. I doubt if that will continue. And their old funder networks have dried up in the meantime. So to score some money in a hurry, you’re looking at the likes of Griff, Uiehlein and Ricketts. To make them happy, refuse and try to kill it is the way to go. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:54 pm: Try to negotiate. To paraphrase Jeffery to Phil Brody, “the King” in “The Flamingo Kid”.., “Dunkin, Franks, and Drury aren’t there anyone. Just ‘us’…” The only was to get over being a super minority is show some governing skill. Negotiate. Now. - zatoichi - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 2:54 pm: If you are not in the room you have no say. Step up and be part of the process. That is why you were voted in. - Gracchus - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:00 pm: Negotiation is the only way the GOP can influence this bill. It is almost guaranteed to pass with the required votes considering the current make up of the legislature. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:02 pm: “But I think the immediate objective for GA Republicans is to find a replacement for Rauner Money.” I wonder if Pritzker money can give cover to any GOP who doesn’t represent wealthier districts. In that way, the legislator will have means to put out the message that the primary election opponent wants to keep taxes higher. That would be a great message. The primary opponent would run against tax cuts. - anon2 - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:03 pm: Why let opponents change a bill they still won’t vote for? The normal process is that in return for your change, you agree to support the bill. When have Republicans ever allowed Democratic opponents to change GOP bills and still not vote for them? I bet the answer is never. - Last Bull Moose - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:03 pm: Support the tax increase in return for spending limits. The Pritzker tax increase barely funds the state at current levels of operation. - Steve - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:09 pm: Republicans should stand against the progressive income tax. That means you stand for something. If you are part it : you are the junior partner in the enterprise. The Democrats are looking for cover, why help them? The longer you delay this, the better the odds of it not passing. Today’s non-farm payroll numbers could mean a national recession is coming. Raising taxes on anyone in that environment is more difficult. Later this year, the many gifts for the U.S. Attorney’s Office will help Republicans Illinois win some possible seats in 2020. The headlines just might change the climate of opinion for some. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:12 pm: ===The Democrats are looking for cover, why help them? The longer you delay this, the better the odds of it not passing.=== Narrator: Dems have the votes. - OneMan - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:15 pm: Voted Refuse and try to kill it. Seems that being against it is their best political option. It seems working with the Democrats on it at this point (before the referendum) doesn’t do them any favors. If/when it passes then you should start talking. Why talk about the implementation of something you are going to try and keep from happening? - DuPage Moderate - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:15 pm: If they care about the state, they negotiate. If they care about merely picking up 5-6 suburban seats from the newly elected D’s who are going to get steamrolled the next time around, they merely resist. Let’s hope they show they care about the state. - Groundhog Day - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:16 pm: voted refuse and try to kill it. Don’t hide who you really are. Just sit on the sidelines and throw potshots like the elite jerks they are - Rich Miller - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:16 pm: ===If/when it passes then you should start talking=== About what? Barn door. Horse. Etc. - Pot calling kettle - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:17 pm: If they want to claim the mantle of fiscal responsibility, they need to be at the table. They can negotiate brackets, property tax swaps, capital streams, sunset clauses, etc., but only if they are at the table. - Southside Markie - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:23 pm: Voted that they should negotiate. The last 4 years should have taught them about the problems that occur when someone refuses to negotiate. - Fixer - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:25 pm: Voted for negotiations. Get to the table and try to get the help you supposedly want for your constituents. Your donors might want you to kill it, but when push comes to shove that donor is still only one vote. Grow up and help the folks out that put you there in the first place. - The Dude Abides - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:26 pm: They should sit down and negotiate with the Democrats. It is their job to do just that. The ILGOP hasn’t done their job for some time. During the previous 4 years they have taken orders from a failed Governor and share in the blame for what he did to Illinois. You would hope that they might want to be part of the process again and have a hand in helping this state recover from the mess that it’s in. The easier alternative is hope that the Democrats can accomplish this on their own. The GOP knows as well as the Democrats do that more revenue is needed. The GOP doesn’t want to share the burden of doing the heavy lifting though. They hope that the Democrats can accomplish this on their own so that they can hammer them on the issue leading up to the next election. - City Zen - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:28 pm: Negotiate. Set your terms, like long-term rate and bracket locks, indexing the brackets to inflation, etc. Add wording like no new spending until unpaid bills or debt are below a certain threshold. If you don’t like the answers, you can always walk away. But set some terms. Any terms. Please. - Lester Holt’s Mustache - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:36 pm: Lol, Steve must be looking forward to the entire state GOP being hammered in 2020 for refusing to cut taxes for almost all Illinoisans. Maisch is right only if the entire focus is trying to keep the sugar daddies happy, politically it’s a bus pass to 4 more years of super-minority status. Narrator: Who would have ever thought that the Illinois Republican Party would refuse to lower our taxes….. - JB13 - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:37 pm: Don’t particularly like the term “negotiate,” because it implies leverage. There really is none here. JBP will get his amendment, and he’ll get whatever rates he ultimately wants. But GOP should put forward ideas and see if something catches. When Democrats do whatever they want to do anyway, they can call out the governor’s call for bipartisanship as a ploy, and go to war wherever anyone will listen, for whatever it might get them. But gotta start somewhere. - Pundent - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:43 pm: I say negotiate. A starting point would be “we want guaranteed protections for the middle class (that is their objection after all). And if they don’t get those they can blame the Democrats. - Anon - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:44 pm: The better question is, assuming the existence of any Republicans willing to negotiate in good faith on this issue (lol) why on earth should the Democratic supermajority invite them to the table? If the voters wanted Republicans to have any say whatsoever in legislation, they wouldn’t have locked them out of power. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:51 pm: The big message would be, “ILGOP refuses to negotiate for tax cuts for 97% of Illinoisans.” That adds to the image that the GOP is the party of no and obstructionists. A few owe me an apology by mocking the belief that the plan would give tax cuts to the vast majority of us. But being the Grandson of Man, I forgive—but not before a little groveling for atonement. Just goofing, folks. TGIF and have a great weekend. - DuPage Bard - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:57 pm: If you’re not at the table you’re on the menu. - wordslinger - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 3:59 pm: –Yes, the Dems have the votes today. They might not after the public reaction of Alderman Ed Burke’s coming indictment no later than May 3.– Please explain how a Burke indictment would impact a GA vote on a graduated income tax. - SAP - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:06 pm: Voted negotiate. Look at what happened on minimum wage to see how effective refusing to negotiate is. - Angel's Sword - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:07 pm: Negotiate. It’s going to pass. Sitting out negotiations won’t stop the tax. It will only make certain that Republicans (and their constituents) have no say in the process. Yes, I’m sure that Republicans will still dislike the final result even if they negotiate. That’s not a reason to sit out the process. I guarantee you they’ll dislike it more if they don’t participate. - Steve - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:15 pm: - wordslinger - It appears from what the Chicago Sun-Times has reported about the Danny Solis investigation ,from a 120 page criminal affidavit that the Burke situation isn’t just about Chicago’s City Council. It also deals with the Illinois State Legislature. The FBI doesn’t allow people to just go around an wear a wire on state legislators unless they believe they’ve engaged in criminal activity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTmW4K1UAmw - Anonymous - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:15 pm: Wordslinger - some are still in the “denial” phase.. Im waiting for the “bargaining” and “acceptance” phases. I love Steve’s comment that the 2020 election, with Trump at the top of the ticket, will help ILGOP. Haha. - Steve - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:20 pm: - Anonymous - It’s not a question of whether Trump is on the ticket or not. Indictments are coming. What the Republicans couldn’t achieve (in Illinois) at the ballot box will be partially achieved in a federal court room. - Yooper in Diaspora - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:20 pm: Republicans should jump in and propose alternative graduated income tax rates, or alternative proposals entirely, and do a cost-benefit analysis of each tax and budget proposal. What would they cut, if there is no income tax change? Or how might they tweak Pritzker’s proposal, and what are the anticipated consequences by way of comparison with Pritzker’s proposal? - Jocko - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:23 pm: Durkin must think this is the 90’s and he’s Gingrich going to draft his “contract with Illinois” - SSL - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:24 pm: Hey Grandson, I apologize. The fact that the cuts are miniscule doesn’t change the fact that they are cuts. The debate on whether the plan works will continue, but you were right. Have a great weekend. - Hieronymus - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:26 pm: Voted to negotiate. -If you have to live through a revolution, better to help shape it rather than being at its mercy.- Otto von Bismarck - Rabid - Friday, Mar 8, 19 @ 4:28 pm: No, your worth more to a perspective buyer if you come as one unit for sale. You know how to take marching orders Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.