Friday, July 03, 2009

Can Gov. Pat Quinn [D-IL] get “buy in,” from Republicans for his income tax increase? Quinn,Althoff & Mulligan on Republican buy-in:In their own words

Speaking to this journalist one on one, Senator Althoff (R-Crystal Lake) said, “I have never ruled out the possibility of having to have… an income tax increase. However, I will tell you that...
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Jeff Berkowitz: …if you could see a real budget there-- line items, would you then possibly support an income tax increase?

State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines): If I was going to support one, it would have to be one that would sunset and it would have to solve some...
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Gov. Quinn's summer budget offensive

Governor Quinn returned from Springfield to his office in Chicago yesterday without an approved budget in hand. He met with twenty-eight female legislators (8 Republicans and 20 Democrats) in a conference room near his office on the 16th floor of the Thompson Center in the Loop. Apparently, this is part of the Governor's summer budget offensive. The meeting went on for about four hours and the media met with a few of the legislators who left early, followed by the Governor taking a few questions from the media. Many of the media had been camped out on the 16th Floor for four hours, waiting for the meeting to break up.
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Possible Republican supporters of the income tax increase

Jeff Berkowitz: Governor…two Republicans came out of that room, [Senator] Pam Althoff (Crystal Lake) and [Representative] Rosemary Mulligan (Des Plaines)… and they said, if the reforms occur that they would like to see, they are open to an increase in the state income tax- to supporting that. Did you hear that from any other Republicans in the room today?

Gov. Pat Quinn [D-IL]: I talk to a lot of Republicans. They are all my friends and I think we are going to get support on both sides of the aisle for enough revenue so we can have a balanced budget that’s fair and decent. That is my goal. It’s not a partisan issue. Not personal. Not political. It’s mathematical. We have to have a balanced budget and so I think we need to have a Governor who just stays on that course. From day one I have said that. I’ve said we need to have revenue in order to have a balanced budget and that’s in the best interests of the people of Illinois and I have good friends on both sides of the aisle. I think they’ll agree with me when it comes time to vote.

A July budget

The Governor indicated that Speaker Mike Madigan was opposed, last week, to going forward, for the month of July, with a two billion dollar “temporary,” budget. However, if the Speaker and the other leaders were now in favor of this, the Governor would go along with this for a month, as the Leaders and the Governor endeavored to reach agreement on reforms, as well as on a permanent budget, including additional revenue-- most likely in the form of an increase in the income tax.

But, the Governor made clear he would not agree to keep rolling this matter forward, on a month by month basis, into the winter. This agreement would be a way of avoiding the “Draconian budget cuts,” of human service providers—that we have been hearing about for the last few days.

A 9.2 billion dollar Illinois budget deficit

The Governor views the current fiscal status of Illinois as being characterized by a 9.2 billion dollar deficit. The comments of the Governor and the legislators leaving the meeting made clear that the Governor contemplates resolving that deficit by:

·obtaining about 2 billion dollars in federal stimulus funds
·issuing a pension bond note in the amount of about 2.2 billion dollars
·executing spending cuts of about 1 billion dollars
·obtaining agreement to raise the income tax by 50%, generating about 4 billion dollars in additional revenue [Some of the legislative leaders might prefer to obtain this revenue by a lottery lease or gaming expansion, and perhaps the Governor and the leaders will be able to reach agreement on this soon]

Further, the comments of the Governor and some of the legislators after the meeting indicate that they thought the information exchange as to the budget numbers was useful to all who were there.

Senator Althoff's possible support of a tax increase:

Speaking to this journalist one on one, Senator Althoff (R-Crystal Lake) said, “I have never ruled out the possibility of having to have… an income tax increase. However, I will tell you that there are many variables and components that I have to be assured of before I’d even consider that. One of them is the reforms. I look at the fact that we had seven billion new dollars [in revenue] over the past six years and we find ourselves in …nine billion dollar debt, that means we have spent sixteen billion dollars, so we need reforms, we need to assure that we provide transparency, accountability, sunshine on our budget so people know exactly where we are…unfortunately…today, most of my human service programs are truly hurting and I find that reprehensible.
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Rep. Mulligan's possible support of an income tax increase

Jeff Berkowitz: …if you could see a real budget there-- line items, would you then possibly support an income tax increase?

State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines): If I was going to support one, it would have to be one that would sunset and it would have to solve some of the problems….I think my leader [Tom Cross] is a moderate and I think he is open and I would not speak for our caucus because I think a lot of Republicans would definitely be against an income tax increase. I am for solving whatever it takes to solve the problem long term, not piecemeal, but I want to see a real budget. I am tired of the Mickey Mouse stuff that we have- that doesn’t show us what’s really there.
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Jeff Berkowitz: So, what should be done now?

Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines): I think we need to go back and revise the budget and call the people back that work on the budget, have a real budget and when we go back on [July] 14th present a real budget, not this piecemeal thing and then let people vote it up or down and including …how we’re going to pay for it, which would include [a] tax increase or other revenue.

Another reporter: the whole legislature is full of veterans, why does it allow itself to get to this point?

Rep. Mulligan: Because not everybody is as outspoken or carefree about getting re-elected as some of us are.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
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"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, a show with State Rep. Hamos (D-Evanston) about Illinois' budget deficit and Hamos' likely run in the 2010 Attorney General Dem. Primary , a show with the most recently announced Republican Primary Guv candidate Dan Proft (will announce his decision by end of June) , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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