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Understatement of the week

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Illinois

* Umm…

Beyond that, prospects also appear to be dwindling for Democrats to push for an extension of the 2011 income tax increase, which rolls back next year and eventually leaves Illinois billions of dollars short in revenue. Quinn wanted to keep the 5 percent rate permanent instead of allowing it to dip to 3.75 percent as scheduled, claiming there’d be a major impact on schools and services.

No way were they ever gonna touch that hot potato if Rauner won.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:31 am

Comments

Some similar plan will be passed in January to at least temporarily keep income tax at 5%. Every republican will have to vote for it.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:36 am
Rauner promised to balance the budget while allowing the income tax to roll back. Why give him a pass?

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:36 am
Rauner will have to “raise taxes” on his own, since the Dems will want to have him take responsibility, against all he was preaching during the campaign. Lesson #1 learned.

Comment by Big Joe Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:40 am
This just in from the AP: Bears Super Bowl prospects appear to be dwindling….

Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:43 am
Word hits another home run!

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:47 am
Campaigns are hard, governing is difficult.

Maybe that PAC will help Governor Rauner come January.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:57 am
Word, I thought of a different one… since CNN couldn’t find anything else to talk about most of this spring.

Breaking news: Malaysian airliner still missing somewhere in the Indian Ocean.

Comment by cover Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:58 am
Cover, what Slinger said was funny. You; not so much.

Comment by A guy... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:06 am
Where’s his “team of experts” working right now on the current budget and tax issues? I didn’t notice that one in his announcement of transition committees.

If there is one behind closed doors, it’d be nice to at least know the “experts.” Love to join that one.

Comment by walker Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:07 am
While 3.75 is still an increase over the 3.25 rate we previously had, this is going to require a collaborative fix to spare pain.

If Rauner’s plan was to support a more gradual reduction in the tax hike, then he should be expected to try and see it through. And if Madigan’s plan was to blow a hole in the 2015 budget for electoral purposes but then support an extension of the tax hike to patch that hole after November, then he should be expected to try and see it through. There is a middle point there.

Anything less than an honest effort from both of them is dangerous to the health and safety of millions of people. Rauner and Madigan depict themselves as strong, rational leaders. We will now see for ourselves.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:16 am
we seem to have an open forum here, top this : i am in possesion of a bears super bowl $10 ticket bought in lost vegas this year with the bears as the winner.But wait there is more, i will donate 1/10 of one per cent to the new Gov in the spirit of unity. Accepting sealed bids

Comment by door gunner Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:17 am
= Cover, what Slinger said was funny. You; not so much. =

Hey, worth a try. We could all use a good laugh at this non-story.

Comment by cover Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:28 am
Cover, you’re new to me. Try harder next time. That plane was full of people’s loved ones. Hard to get any laughter from it. Understand you didn’t mean to be callous, but it appealed to me that way. Maybe I’m alone.

Comment by A guy... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:47 am
Won’t there be pressure on the Democrats to pass a bill in May in order to avoid a shutdown?

Suppose Rauner comes up with a plan that involves cuts, “reforms”, and temporary tax increases that are relatively palatable for Republicans but are unacceptable to most Democrats.

Then in May (or June or July or August) the Democrats will have to formulate an alternative bill with some sort of tax increase, taking much of the blame away from Rauner.

I am not sure I see any way that Democrats sit on the sidelines and put all the blame on Rauner.

Comment by east central Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 11:55 am
East Central… I think you are on it… Rauner will have his plan. If the Dems don’t like it.. They will need to offer an alternative. Steep cuts are coming.

Comment by Walter Mitty Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 12:32 pm
A guy, I’m not trying to make light of the disaster itself, I was targeting the coverage of the event, which was being billed as “news” weeks after there wasn’t any. My apologies if you took offense…

Comment by cover Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:04 pm
==Rauner will have his plan==

That’s the funniest thing said so far! He’s had 18 months to plan, and all I’ve heard is “term limits!” and “freezing property taxes!”

Comment by Jocko Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:08 pm
== Won’t there be pressure on the Democrats to pass a bill in May in order to avoid a shutdown? ==

There will be pressure on both. But beginning early next year, the more painful the emerging consequences of the Fiscal Year 2015 Quinn-Madigan-Cullerton budget and tax plan turn out to be, the more leverage and public support Rauner will gain during budget negotiations.

It is somewhat disturbing and twisted. If these agencies begin running out of funds under the current budget Rauner had no hand in making, Madigan and Cullerton lose credibility as stewards of the budget while Rauner gains credibility by default. The longer things drag on towards July 1, and the more drastic the consequences become, the better it is for Rauner’s negotiating stance and the worse it is for Madigan and Cullerton’s.

Madigan and Cullerton could then try herding cats and passing their own budget full of drastic cuts or tax increases without any Republican support, but that would be a gift to the GOP. Doing so completely lets the GOP off the hook for some very painful votes and opens the door to Republican pickups in the House and Senate.

At some point, they will all have to get in bed together and make this thing work. The sooner they do so the better for Illinois, but the later they do so the better for the politicians playing ==chicken== and wanting to see who blinks first.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:48 pm
==Steep cuts are coming.==

Where? Rauner was promising increases in many areas that the Democrats had “neglected.” He can’t cut payments to the pension funds, he promised to increase education funding. He painted himself into a corner on the budget; so tempting to do during a campaign.

==If these agencies begin running out of funds under the current budget Rauner had no hand in making, Madigan and Cullerton lose credibility as stewards of the budget while Rauner gains credibility by default.==

Actually, they don’t. Rauner will be in charge and he said he could fix things. He was elected on high expectations that he would bring his solid business expertise to the table and turn things around. The voters pretty much blamed Quinn and kept all the Dems in the GA. Everyone will be looking for that grand proposal that fixes everything and hurts no one.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:24 pm
=== cover - Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 1:04 pm:

A guy, I’m not trying to make light of the disaster itself, I was targeting the coverage of the event, which was being billed as “news” weeks after there wasn’t any. My apologies if you took offense…===

I got you covered, Cover. No worries. It hit me as being off. Not your intent. It’s all good dude.

Comment by A guy... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:27 pm
Pot, you’re off pal. This awful budget is property of Quinn, Madigan and Cullerton. Two of them will be around with enough swag to help fix it. There’s enough motivation for them there. They made that bed. It’s not time to sleep in it yet. Watch what they do.

Comment by A guy... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:29 pm
Don’t know what Rauner is going to try to do, but I do know the IPI tax “proposal” they emailed out a day or so ago under the title “growth” has even fuzzier math in it than what little bit Rauner has suggested.

Ain’t no way Illinois taxpayers end up with a lower overall tax bill when the smoke clears.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 2:32 pm
== Rauner will be in charge and he said he could fix things. ==

Exactly. He was elected with more than 50% support based in part on that perception.

And every day between now and July 1 that an agency runs low on funds, or something bad happens as a consequence, it supports the belief that it is the ==other guys== who created that budget and those shortfalls that are the problem while Rauner is the guy offering ideas to ==shake up Springfield== and fix everything. And every time someone calls his office or complains before July 1, all he needs to do is remind them who made the mess that he so innocently inherited, point them towards their local legislators, and explain the importance of supporting his budget instead of ==the old way of doing things==.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 3:06 pm
Of course, he also runs the risk of overplaying his hand.

If he is seen as being cold to people in need of public services, which feeds into the existing suspicions of him after so many negative campaign ads about the ==rich guy==; or he is seen as putting his own benefit ahead of the public, as happened with Governor Quinn and the minimum wage issue; everything backfires and Mr. Rauner spends the next four years trying to douse the fire of self-immolation ignited during his first four months on the job.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 3:16 pm
I’m confident that Madigan and Cullerton will cooperate with the new governor when he asks for a tax hike — so long as he ponies up adequate GOP votes.

Comment by anon Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 3:50 pm
The question is, why does the AP out of Chicago write such stupid stories, like they got s— for brains, over and over again, when they have a superstar named John O’ Connor under The Dome?

That guy is the goods

Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 4:21 pm
—-John OConnor…That guy is the goods.—

Wordslinger : Amen to that

Comment by walker Thursday, Nov 20, 14 @ 10:30 pm