Mayor Richard Daley [yesterday] suggested state government leaders should focus on cutting costs before raising taxes.
“First of all, you have to show the intent that you cut off waste, inefficiency, fraud, everything else,” Daley said. “So, they have to really show that. So, it’s up to them. You can’t just tell people, like here, I’m just going to raise taxes. You’d be thrown right out of City Hall. They want you to cut expenses, cut waste, inefficiency, reorganize and get a bank for the buck. That’s what they want. Simple as that.”
The mayor’s remarks came after Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s claim that he has a mandate to raise the income tax after campaigning on a tax-hike pledge and prevailing in last week’s governor election.
Quinn’s response? Not heartening…
At an unrelated news conference [yesterday], Quinn said he’s confident a tax increase will pass.
“I think members of the legislature need to have a rendezvous with reality. That’s what I would say. We’ve got to do what’s best for Illinois. The election’s over. It was over last week. So now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and work hard on what’s necessary for the people,” the governor said.
Quinn’s tax increase alone will barely make a dent in the state’s deficit, so he’s going to have to cut anyway. He might as well come up with at least a partial plan now. Earlier this week, all he could point to was eliminating the legislative scholarship plan. Yeah. That’ll help pass this tax hike. Watch…
A win is a win and Quinn won the election. But that doesn’t make him dictator. He can’t pass his tax hike by fiat. And he can’t wish away this budget deficit, either.
