Is Progressive Wish List on the Budget Radar?
Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), a House budget negotiator, says none of the groups supporting $6 billion in tax hikes have brought the plan to him.
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A group of progressive-leaning organizations released a list of tax increases this week they want the General Assembly to take up to add $6 billion in next year’s state budget.
But, the laundry list of cash went a bit under the radar.
Sources say the list of ideas hasn’t been brought up in budget meetings, and Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), one of the House Democrat budget negotiators told me on WMAY this week the group of advocates, which includes the Chicago Teachers Union, hasn’t even presented the list to him.
“I've heard about this proposal. I know it's floating out in the public atmosphere,” Buckner said. “I have not personally been briefed on this. No one has directly sent me this proposal or given me a briefing on it, which I find interesting.”
That didn’t stop Republicans from pouncing on the plan.
“Illinois Democrats proposed an additional $6 billion in tax increases on Illinois families and businesses to spend even more money on non-citizen welfare programs,” Senate GOP Leader John Curran said in a statement. “Illinois taxpayers already pay the highest taxes in the nation, while suffering the highest unemployment in the Midwest. They are taxed out!”
House Republicans even held a press conference denouncing the plan.
"So far this spring, we haven't talked about the most important issues affecting Illinois families, like high property taxes and the high cost of living and doing business in Illinois,” said Rep. Amy Elik (R-Godfrey). “The people of Illinois are tapped out. We cannot accept any tax increases.”
The group, called the “Illinois Revenue Alliance” wants to tax digital advertising, increase the estate tax, add a “wealth tax” and to “close corporate loopholes,” among other things. The group says it would raise $6 billion of new revenue for projects.
But even Buckner, who isn’t a conservative fiscal hawk, says tax increases are being met with skepticism in the Capitol.
“Whatever this budget looks like in finality, it has to be smart,” he said. “It has to be methodical. We can't keep going back to the well on people. People are in a tough spot. They're worried about a precarious economy. They don't know what's going to happen after this summer or this fall. And they want to be able to have some predictability.”
But he didn’t rule out any of the ideas proposed finding their way into the budget.
“Some of those things may make sense, and it may make sense for the bottom line of the state of [where] we need to go,” he said. “I also would always want to caution to make sure that we're doing this very precisely and methodically and not in a blanket way.”
