Posted by Monique Garcia at 5:00 p.m.
As Gov. Pat Quinn prepares to deliver his annual budget address on Wednesday, his office is warning that cities and towns will get less money from the state while some taxpayers will be asked to give more.
David Vaught, Quinn’s budget director, said today that municipalities across Illinois must “share the pain” by giving up a portion of income tax revenues the state typically shares. Instead of getting 10 percent, which amounts to about $1 billion a year, municipalities would receive 7 percent under Quinn’s plan. That’s about a $300 million cut.
“You need to take a look and say OK, does everybody have skin in the game here?” Vaught said. “It just doesn’t make sense that the municipalities would get a pass.”
Quinn’s plan is likely to be a non-starter with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and many of his suburban counterparts because a cut in state funding would blow holes in local budgets.
Vaught also said taxpayers should "expect" Quinn to propose a tax increase again in his Wednesday speech, but he declined to offer specifics.
“He’s been very consistent about saying this is one of the things we
have to do,” Vaught said. “What we see in the budget proposal this year
is that it represents the reality and consequences of not doing it last
year, because the hole is deeper and the problem is getting worse.”
Lawmakers in both parties are tepid at best when
it comes to an income tax increase, especially in an election year.
Quinn has used the last several weeks to try to outline just how severe state’s money woes are, posting preliminary budget numbers online nearly two weeks ago that include $2 billion in cuts, though Republicans say that doesn’t go far enough when the state is facing a nearly $13 billion deficit.
The Illinois State Police is facing a $26 million cut, which would mean a reduction in patrols, Vaught said today.
“If you want to blame us for the cuts, fine, but blame doesn’t get you anywhere,” Vaught said. “Our job is to try to get this budget in balance, so we’re going to have to do it. What gets you somewhere is talking about the solution, so that’s what we say to the legislators, can we talk about a solution to this problem?”
Vaught also said the Quinn administration does not plan to make the
full $4.1 billion employee pension payment this year because the governor is
confident proposed reforms will pass the General Assembly that will
ultimately save the state money. Instead, the state will pay $3.8
billion, $300 million less than required.