Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: Question of the day
Next Post: Et tu, Robin?
Posted in:
* As we’ve seen many, many times before, people don’t want their taxes raised and instead want “waste and inefficiency” cut by government to solve the state’s deficit problems, but they don’t want any big programs cut. Here are the latest results from the Paul Simon Institute’s poll of southern Illinoisans…
The state of Illinois has a budget deficit of over 13 billion dollars. I’m going to read
three statements that people have made about how to fix the deficit, and ask you
which one comes closest to your views…
…taking in more revenue, such as a tax increase 9.7%
…cutting waste and inefficiency in government 60.1%
…a combination of budget cuts and revenue increases 24.4%
…haven’t thought much about it 2.5%
…other/don’t know 3.2%
But when asked about cutting where the real money is, people are opposed…
Do you favor or oppose cuts in state spending on kindergarten through high school education?
Favor 11.7%
Oppose 87.3%
Other/Don’t know 1.0%Do you favor or oppose cuts in state spending on state universities?
Favor 24.9%
Oppose 67.1%
Other/Don’t know 8.0%Do you favor or oppose cuts in state spending on community colleges?
Favor 18.5%
Oppose 76.3%
Other/Don’t know 5.2%Do you favor or oppose cuts in state spending on public safety, such as state police and prison operations?
Favor 18.0%
Oppose 78.6%
Other/Don’t know 3.5%Do you favor or oppose cuts in state spending on natural resources, such as state parks or environmental regulation?
Favor 35.2%
Oppose 57.9%
Other/Don’t know 7.0%Do you favor or oppose raising the state income tax rate from 3 percent to 4 percent?
Favor 38.9%
Oppose 58.1%
Other/Don’t know 3.0%Do you favor or oppose raising the state sales tax rate?
Favor 33.2%
Oppose 64.1%
Other/Don’t know 2.7%Do you favor or oppose expanding the sales tax to cover services like dry cleaning or
haircuts, which are not currently taxed?
Favor 36.2%
Oppose 60.1%
Other/Don’t know 3.7%Do you favor or oppose a proposal expanding legalized gambling in the state?
Favor 40.1%
Oppose 54.9%
Other/Don’t know 5.0%
The Southern Illinoisan’s lede about the poll was priceless…
There were no questions on the latest Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll about using gold at the end of a rainbow to fix the state budget, but it may be the only option not panned by Southern Illinoisans.
Heh.
* As we’ve already discussed, the Civic Federation has pulled its support for a 2-point tax hike because the governor isn’t cutting enough and is piling up too much debt. Notice how Lawrence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, gets around a tough question asked by my buddy Ben Yount…
Msall said Quinn is only going to hurt local schools and local governments if he indeed cuts $1.3 billion from education and shrinks the local share of tax money. “We’d far rather have the governor identify non-priority spending,” Msall said. “What are the things that are a priority to the state of Illinois? Can everything in a combined $53 billion budget be a priority? If that’s the case, then it’s unlikely we’re going to identify the level of cuts that need to happen.”
The Civic Federation has put the price tag for those “needed cuts” at $2.5 billion. Msall said that would require lawmakers to craft a budget that spends at 2007 levels. But he acknowledges that is easier said than done. “Fiscally they are just numbers on a page,” Msall said. “The real problem is politically. The political will to tell people ‘No,’ to tell people ‘We can’t afford something’.” Msall said that’s a question he can’t answer, but he did say Illinois can’t wait much longer for lawmakers to answer it. He said the state’s finances are in such bad shape that the “day of reckoning is already here.”
He won’t answer it for good reason. Almost nobody wants to touch this issue. The public is not alone by any means.
* Bill Brady responded to the Civic Federation announcement via press release…
“The Civic Federation’s report should act as a wake up call for Governor Pat Quinn to finally drop his 33 percent income tax increase plan and instead make meaningful cuts to government overspending.”
Except, the Civic Federation actually supports a much larger tax hike than Quinn does. They just can’t support this budget proposal by Quinn. They’ve never once said “solve the whole problem with cuts and tax cuts,” as Brady does.
* But if you think Brady’s statement was delusional, just check out the governor’s Office of Management and Budget statement which they just released…
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget is pleased that members of the Civic Federation recognize that we are moving forward on changes that will secure our state’s finances, but what is not emphasized in their analysis, is how budget cuts, borrowing and the surcharge for education are all necessary this legislative session to move Illinois toward budget and fiscal stability.
Budget cuts in discretionary spending made by the Quinn administration both last year and this year
must continue and new revenues are needed to restore fiscal balance. One without the other cannot do the job. Both are necessary to secure our state’s bond ratings and the ability to engage in the short-term
and intermediate term borrowing needed to pay our bills on time.Our budget plan makes the tough decisions necessary to address the state’s challenges and provides
solutions to pay our bills, protect jobs, and save taxpayers money.
Where, oh were, to begin? I don’t read the Civic Club report as recognizing “that we are moving forward on changes that will secure our state’s finances” at all. They look at the proposed budget as a cop-out.
The Civic Federation also points out that Quinn wants to use a tax increase to negate his education cut. Instead, they say, they oppose Quinn’s proposal “to raise taxes primarily to avert spending cuts rather than to pay down the deficit or reduce the State’s other growing liabilities.” That’s kinda circular logic. The state cut education last year and filled the hole with federal money which is now gone. So, it is now in deficit.
* The anti government employee furor has spread to Saturday Night Live…
* Related and a roundup…
* : Even for Illinois, this is a crazy way to spend taxpayer dollars: Not surprisingly, Glen Carbon officials and construction trade unions love the idea. Mayors of most other Metro East municipalities don’t. They worry that the development will cannibalize their jobs, businesses and tax bases. State Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, and state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, who represent the project site, also oppose the legislation. They’re skeptical of the developers’ claims that the project will create 11,760 “direct and indirect jobs” at completion. They also worry that for a state with a $13 billion deficit, betting hundreds of millions of future tax dollars on a “single, speculative real estate project” is “simply too risky.”
* Radogno: Income Tax Hike ‘’Dead Wrong'’
* Hamos Defends Plan to Trim Retiree Health Subsidies
* Businesses will have to wait on Illinois income tax refunds
* No money, but Quinn signs bill to pay for guards
* Our View: Inaction leads lawmakers to lose support for tax hike
* Quinn still talking tax hike, but are leaders listening?
* Quinn signs stopgap bill to pay prison guards
* Film, TV flourishing: But pilot episodes for five television series have been or will be shot in Chicago in early 2010. “I can’t think of a time when we’ve had as many television pilots shooting simultaneously,” Moskal said.
* City’s stage scene is in a bind : The State of Illinois can’t pay its bills, and that includes grant money the Illinois Arts Council has promised to various not-for-profit theater companies in Chicago, putting many of them in a financial squeeze.
* Groups argue to lift Chicago’s video poker ban
* Unions, business groups push City Hall for video gambling approval
* City Council may put video gambling on table
* Schools districts may get state OK to issue bonds for buildings without voter approval
* Illinois Democrats, Republicans offer dueling redistricting plans
* DuPage County takeover of water commission hits snag
* Groups provide prison reform ideas
* Time to put true remap reform on fall ballot
* Our Opinion: Don’t weaken revised FOIA
* Anti-bullying bill passes Illinois legislature
* Lawmakers Pass Big Change To Adoption Privacy Act - New Law Would Make It Easier For Adoptees To Learn Birth Parents’ Names
* Nursing home safety plans miss the mark
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:05 pm
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: Question of the day
Next Post: Et tu, Robin?
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
When asking those questions, it’d be interesting to see how those numbers would move if within the body of the question, both sides of the equation were linked.
So for the questions asking about cutting–ask those opposed about tax hikes. For those against tax hikes, ask which areas of the budget to cut other than the absurd gimmie cop-out of “cut waste and fraud.”
Comment by ABCBoy Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:14 pm
I’d love to see a poll on whether people would favor a state constitutional amendment to allow for changing public employee pensions.
Comment by Downstater Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:16 pm
From the arts article:
===
The Illinois Arts Council may control the pen — the agency approved more than $6 million for arts grants allocation in fiscal year 2010, less than half of 2009’s $13 million — but the checkbook falls squarely under the jurisdiction of the Illinois comptroller’s office, which issues the actual grant money.
===
And no wonder why we’re broke. Really? Quinn wants to trot out kids & teachers and use them as convenient hostages when he doesn’t have the backbone to cut these programs?
I know that $6 million is a drop in the bucket. But don’t tell me that funding non-profit theatre companies in Chicago is critical to the central role of our state government. Lump that in w/ the free CTA rides for millionaire seniors as more “low hanging fruit” that the Springfield gang is afraid to axe.
Comment by ABCBoy Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:23 pm
at least Quinn has a plan to reduce some of the deficit. He’s willing to do more, and propose more specifics, on budget cuts than (a) Brady, (b) Democratic leadership in the legislature and (c) the average voter
Comment by Robert Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:24 pm
It would be interesting if they polled with either or questions… would you rather cut school funding, or have a 15 tax increase etc…
Interestingly it looks like Brady’s buisness was going bad bfore the economic downtown turn, and in response, he increased income with a second job as an elected official…. he did not just cut his way out….
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:26 pm
I’m not the cheerleader of the brady fan club but when the democrats took congress in 2006 their four point plan was
b
u
s
h
No media members went to northbrook to quiz dan seals on what he would do. Tammy Duckworth was only asked about abortion and her injuries in iraq, nothing else. So before we go rip republicans for not having a plan of attack, lets remember whose fault this budget deficit is and how the same standards did not apply to democrats in 06 or 08.
Comment by shore Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:27 pm
What I love is that 80%+ of the respondents felt their part of the state does not “get their fair share” of the state revenue. So, essentially it is
A) Cut waste, but not anything I care about.
b) Don’t raise revenue, but give me us more money.
Comment by Montrose Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:30 pm
My belief is that if Brady becomes governor he would eventually raise the income tax (let’s not forget only Republican governors have ever raised it). I don’t think Brady has the guts to really take on the unions and balance the budget through cuts alone. And in fact he’s never produced a serious plan showing how he does it.
So I think a Governor Brady raises taxes. He just won’t pay any personally! LOL
Comment by just sayin' Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:32 pm
===
at least Quinn has a plan to reduce some of the deficit. He’s willing to do more, and propose more specifics, on budget cuts than (a) Brady, (b) Democratic leadership in the legislature and (c) the average voter
===
That isn’t due to any backbone transplant that Quinn received. The others are just dumping the hot potato in his lap. They’ll pass the 6 month budget unspecified budget again and force him to make the cuts all by himself this fall.
Comment by ABCBoy Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:35 pm
Yeah looking at the top line question, it’s pretty lame phraseology:
===
…taking in more revenue, such as a tax increase 9.7%
…cutting waste and inefficiency in government 60.1%
…a combination of budget cuts and revenue increases 24.4%
…haven’t thought much about it 2.5%
…other/don’t know 3.2%
===
That “cut waste and inefficiency” is just too easy of a choice. They have a stand-alone “increase taxes” option. They should have had a stand-alone “cut services” option too.
Comment by ABCBoy Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:37 pm
What the State needs is both an increase in the income tax rate and a cut in spending.
Quinn, for as weak as he is, has at least proposed some cuts and an increase in the income tax rate. Could there be additional ares where cuts could be made, of course. The one area that cuts can be made is in State Universities. Currently few professors spend much time in classrooms, but rather, have teacher aides do the class room work for them. Where you find the professors during their absence is doing research and writing studies for corporations and in turn collecting compensation from these corporations for this work. This compensation is in addition to their salaries as professors.
If I were Quinn, everyday I would ask Brady and the GOP to be specific as to where the budget should be cut. It is time for Brady and the GOP to show some courage and put their budget plan on the table for all the voters to see and analyze. Enough of this smoke and mirror approach; give the voters the facts.
Comment by MOON Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:39 pm
shore - Is Brady running for Congress? Whew, I could have sworn he was running for Governor of the state I live in, which would make him responsible for coming up with my state’s budget, which is what the poll above was referring to. Thanks for clearing that up…
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:48 pm
The public’s answer: magic beans.
The leaders’ answer: magic beans.
When will it end?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:49 pm
SNL usually has a good sense of the public mood.
Comment by Niles Township Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 12:53 pm
Too much forest here. I think we could all find the trees, and the weed trees, if we had an opportunity to intensively review the budgets. Quinn and Brady need to start getting specific on the meaning of non essential. For example, what does the World Shooting Sports Complex have to do with Natural Resources? (Long time pet peeve, sorry. But just saying. Quinn needs to make his pen a sword.)
Comment by Vole Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:24 pm
Budget Cuts -
Food Stamps - Elminate the purchase of soda, candy, prepared foods and potato chips. Eliminate anyone from the rolls that is currently a wanted felon (That’s right, their food stamps won’t be taken away). Random testing for drug, alchol and tobacco use. If they have money for those things, then they don’t need state money for food.
Disability - Don’t allow for automactic re-enrollment in the system. Require bi-annual “approved physicians” review. I’m told that more than 90% of our disability payments go to people who are “gaming” the system. Currently, you cannot get off of disability unless you specifically request to.
Comment by Downstater Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:34 pm
I think the answers from the poll appear delusional because most people have a misunderstanding of how state dollars are spent. Just as they think that the federal government spends 10% or more on foreign aid (as opposed to less than 1%), I think they think that a huge amount of the state budget is spent on “welfare”, which they see as “waste.” The (false) belief that a large part of the state budget consists of this and other state expenditures that are viewed as “taking from the productive and giving to the unproductive” fuels the delusion (it probably fuels a lot of the Tea Party movement, too).
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:37 pm
I’m told that more than 90% of our disability payments go to people who are “gaming” the system
Are you that gullible?
Comment by George Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:38 pm
Rich - you once projected that the success of Gov. Christie’s efforts to slash the budget in New Jersey will be a sign of the public’s mood for such an approach.
Let’s take a look at how that is going for him.
Comment by George Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:47 pm
George - I’m not sure gullible really nails it down, more like idiotic, ignorant…
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:51 pm
George, I was just thinking about that.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:52 pm
Downstater, I’m told…..? Really? That passes for deep thought on the elementary school playground, not here. What does your source base this on? Do you have to wait until school is out to ask? You are going to build into the system checks on peoples’ continued eligibility? Are you familiar with the SSA disability system? First of all, it is SSA that pays out disability income. That is a federal, not a state program. Depending on the type of disability people are sometimes asked to submit for a re-evaluation. However, some will not need that eval so this would be a waste of time and resources. Take developmental disabilities for instance. Do you recommend a re-evaluation for someone born with Downs’ syndrome who is profoundly retarded? Persons in that group have an IQ that is lower than 20. The liklihood that there is enough improvement in that score so that a person is of near normal IQ is 0%. Why re-check that person? Persons with dementia do not recover. Period. Do we waste resources retesting persons with a progressive neurological disease?
Please do your research before posting.
Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 1:55 pm
==I’d love to see a poll on whether people would favor a state constitutional amendment to allow for changing public employee pensions.==
The Dem-leaning groups prefer to avoid the pension issue in their budget surveys.
Comment by Rambler Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:00 pm
The solutyion is simple… IL Secedes from the US, then prints its own money.
I am fascinated by things like…. go back to 2005 or 2007 budget levels.
if only the costs of goods, inflation, value of the dollar etc remained at those levels.
I am not sure how many vendors will sell to us if we offer to pay them what good used to cost, but not their current value; same for doctors and other professionals providing services operating under the current costs of overhead and goods.
Thanks for the fuel and electricty…. here is what we would pay you for this in 2007 prices…
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:03 pm
I’m in agreement with Ghost and others. Don’t post silliness like that here, please. It’s a waste of time. Now, everybody get back to the topic at hand, please. Thanks.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:05 pm
kudos to dupage dan. i was going to question the “90%” rumor and make the same point about what level of government provides disability payments. although i don’t think we agree often, i appreciate a commitment to facts here…
Comment by bored now Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:07 pm
The Paul Simon survey–assuming all the Qs were covered by the Southern Illinoisan–did not ask about whether state payments to hospitals and other social welfare spending should be cut. The tobacco tax folks asked about these different things. The P.S.I. items asked about are things that all citizens and visitors to the state can benefit from. I bet the Southern Illinoisans might favor cutting the social welfare apparatus some. While there probably is some bloating in education budget as with any bureaucracy, education is a function of the state and should be funded appropriately, although I’d personally prefer more local control and financing for each district.
Comment by Peggy SO-IL Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:10 pm
Will someone please hand over the Magic Beans? May 31st is right around the corner and no one wants to see the end of session party delayed this year.
Comment by Scooby Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:15 pm
Could we actually tax these magic beans to get the revenue we need?
Or would it just drive the magic bean producers out of state?
Comment by George Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:38 pm
- Could we actually tax these magic beans to get the revenue we need? -
We could, but I believe they’re only going to be legalized for medicinal purposes.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:42 pm
Downstater, I don’t think the state pays for food stamps, so cutting them might not save that much money for the state.
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:42 pm
I still go back to the “unconstitutional” programs that Blago initiated without legislative approval. It was part of the rationale that EVERYBODY (including Democrats) were using to justify in his impeachment.
If they were so terrible and remain illegal, why not kill those programs?
Comment by ABCBoy Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:57 pm
I agree with other posters that this type of poll really doens’t do much good. By now, everyone knows that all citizens want something for nothing. The questions re programs vs taxes should not be seperated since life doesn’t work like that. However, even if you do that, you still won’t get anyone to ok an increase in taxes to pay for the underfunded (by the GOV/GA, not by the employees) pension program. Not gonna happen.
Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:03 pm
If they were so terrible and remain illegal, why not kill those programs?
That objection was pretty much limited to the FamilyCare expansion he did by rule. I believe that cost about $5 million.
And the General Assembly already addressed that and sided with the families who had been signed up.
If you think that somehow he could have created billions of dollars worth of programs by himself, he probably would have wanted you around back in ‘07 and ‘08 when he wished he could have, too.
Comment by George Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:11 pm
Gee.
Voters see two governors end up doing perp walks, no job growth, failing schools, decaying infastructure, a US Senate seat sale, a government budget teetering on bankruptcy, paralyzed state government, a rising tide of crime, their neighbors loosing their houses, and a falling quality of life and they get so huffy!
Gee, why can’t they understand that if they just give more of the money thats left in their wallets to this same bunch of people, everything would be different?
They are SOOooo cynical! Gee, I wonder why?
Hey, I got news for you people - voters aren’t stupid, cheap, foolish, dumb, or gullible. They don’t want something for nothing - they want something for something! That’s right! They believe that they are not getting a value for their buck.
If any other organization, whether private or public, had a record similar to what Illinois government has had over the past decade - it would have been raided and everyone would have ended up in the pokey next to Mike the Hammer Murderer!
Or George Ryan!
Or Rod Blagojevich!
Or Tony Rezko!
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:21 pm
My source that 90% of Disability patients are “gaming” the system comes from a well known surgeon that sees many, many disability patients.
The physician is a big supporter of Obama (still supports him, remarkably). However, he’s disgusted by what he sees as the wastefullness of the disability program in the state.
Once you are on, you never get off. The physician cited any number of people on 100% disability that were missing the tip of a finger. He compares that to working patients who function without the use of an arm.
Comment by Downstater Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:27 pm
“Hey, I got news for you people - voters aren’t stupid, cheap, foolish, dumb, or gullible. They don’t want something for nothing - they want something for something! That’s right! They believe that they are not getting a value for their buck.”
I agree with your point here, VMan, but have to wonder: what can a voter do here?
Vote for Quinn, who (while seemingly good intended) will drive the state finances further into the abyss
Vote for Brady, whose social policies are out of tune with the State majority and whose finanical acumen is suspect at best
Vote for Whitney, a wasted vote
Not vote at all
Or move out of the State, I guess.
None of those sound attractive to me.
Comment by Confused Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 4:00 pm
VM, I’m not so sure that you’re completely right. They sure do keep sending back those same elected officials that they complain about (definition of insanity?)
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 4:17 pm
“If they were so terrible and remain illegal, why not kill those programs? That objection was pretty much limited to the FamilyCare expansion he did by rule. I believe that cost about $5 million.”
Basically correct. Also, HFS allowed only those people who had signed up for expanded FamilyCare before 6/30/09 to keep that coverage — no new people could enroll under Blago’s expanded eligibility rule (up to 400 percent FPL) after that date.
Although Blago expected something like 150,000 people to sign up, in the end, less than 5,000 actually did.
If I remember correctly, at one point HFS was staging events where they were giving away free gas cards to get people to sign up. If there was such a great demand for this program as Blago claimed there was, HFS would not have needed to offer ANY incentives to get people to enroll.
Comment by Secret Square Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 4:27 pm
Hey, give Quinn some credit! He’s held the line on merit comp state employee salaries! Of course, so did his predecessor.
Comment by Pat Robertson Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 4:35 pm
“He held the line on merit comp state employee salaries!”
That’s why we have this problem with over-unionization of policy folks. I was severely tempted to sign the card as well. I guess my recognition about how bad this trend is to governing effectively overrode my financial interest.
Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 5:07 pm
“SNL usually has a good sense of the public mood.”
They are probably doing that skit in response to the story from Albany that a NY state employee skipped every Friday for SEVENTEEN years. (Supposedly after saving NY $28 million, he was -permitted- to do so..)
And, I MUST note the irony of SNL writers/players making fun of cush government no-show jobs when they only work 22 (6 day) weeks a year…
Just sayin’.
Comment by Returning Dog Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 8:36 pm
That SNL skit is dead-on in so many ways. The guy with the glasses looked suspiciously like the top guy @ Ill. AFSCME
Comment by downstater II Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 6:01 am
Woods Bowman had a nice breakdown of the state’s fiscal situation the other day. It’s worth a read for anyone honestly looking for answers (sorry, no easy solutions).
You would think everyone on the political spectrum could get together and solve half the problem — the unpaid bills — with some temporary cuts and revenues. I mean, you can’t call yourself a conservative if you’re a chronic deadbeat.
The other half, the structural part involving pension contributions, health care, education, etc., is way tougher.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/2195656,CST-EDT-open24a.article
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 8:51 am
[…] Additionally, politically, gaming expansion is unpopular among some Illinois voters which gives many lawmakers pause. For example, in southern Illinois, 54% of voters oppose an expansion of legalized gambling, according to a new poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. […]
Pingback by Illinois Gaming: Rep. Will Burns Pushes Slots at Illinois Race Tracks; Negotiation Deadlock Keeps Plan in Limbo « THE iLLINOIS OBSERVER Thursday, Apr 29, 10 @ 5:34 pm
[…] More than 87% of southern Illinois voters, for example, oppose budget cuts to elementary and secondary education and 58% oppose increasing the income tax from 3% to 4% and 64% of voters oppose increasing the sales tax, according to a recent Paul Simon Institute poll. […]
Pingback by Illinois Budget: Illinois Democrats’ Proposed State Budget Electoral Genius? « THE iLLINOIS OBSERVER Friday, May 7, 10 @ 3:06 pm