Quinn Wants Vote On Income Tax Hike Wednesday
CHICAGO (AP) -- Gov. Pat Quinn wants lawmakers to vote as soon as Wednesday on an income tax increase to help human services providers, who insist something must be done to avoid massive budget cuts that could devastate programs that help the poor, elderly and the disabled.
"We're about to see human carnage," said Allan Bergman, who runs the Anixter Center, an organization for people with disabilities that could see a big chunk of state funding cut because lawmakers passed a budget that Quinn says will force $9.2 billion in spending cuts.
Lawmakers will be back at work in Springfield starting Tuesday in a special session Quinn called to deal with the state's fiscal crisis. Illinois has at least a $11.6 billion budget deficit, the worst in state history.
Quinn refused to say Friday what, if anything, he would do to stop the cuts if lawmakers reject the income tax increase he wants.
"I don't like to deal with hypotheticals because I do believe in these next 11 days we can make great progress and get the job done," Quinn told reporters at a Chicago training center for adults with developmental disabilities.
Quinn's administration has warned human services organizations that their state money will either be shut off or reduced sharply come July 1 if lawmakers don't come up with more money for the budget.
But so far there has not been enough support among lawmakers for the tax increase Quinn wants.
Bergman said Quinn needs to take interim action if an income tax increase doesn't pass to stop the budget cuts that threaten to eliminate services such as child-care programs and financial assistance for Illinois college students.
"I have to believe in my heart of hearts, as a human being, that neither he nor the Legislature, when they really understand the faces underneath these numbers, will let this go forward," Bergman said after appearing with Quinn at a Friday press conference.
Bergman's agency could see its state funding cut by a third, or about $7 million.
Quinn said he won't accept a budget that doesn't fund the "core priorities of the people of Illinois" and he won't relent on his call for more revenue through a tax increase. He wants a two-year, temporary income tax increase that would boost the personal rate from 3 percent to 4.5 percent.
The Illinois House rejected that plan before adjourning the spring session. The state Senate passed a higher, permanent increase that was not voted on in the House.
Quinn won't say if he will continue calling lawmakers into special session until they pass the tax increase he wants.
House Republican leader Tom Cross said he doesn't know if Quinn can "pull the trigger" on deep human services budget cuts.
"I think he's too good a human being, too compassionate a human being to harm the social service agencies," Cross said.
Republicans have said that before a tax increase is considered, lawmakers should pass a budget that allows spending to continue on human services while more work is done on spending reforms and government efficiencies.
Republicans in the Democrat-controlled Legislature have leverage because any tax increase or new budget needs a super majority to pass - making their support key - because it's past the General Assembly's May 31 deadline.
While lawmakers figure out what to do, Bergman of the Anixter Center said his agency was looking at how long it could go without state subsidies after July 1 before cutting jobs and programs if lawmakers still haven't resolved the budget.
That's not an option for other agencies who rely almost entirely on state funding, said Janet Stover, executive director of the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities.
"They don't have the luxury of waiting it out, so they're taking action now. It's a shame," Stover said.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
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First Posted: 06-19-09 05:38 PM | Updated: 06-19-09 07:42 PM