Clock is ticking in Springfield

There are four days of legislative session remaining, during which time state lawmakers will debate many important issues that affect taxpayers in the state of Illinois. Here is what you need to know going into the last week of session. No budget … yet At this point in session, a state budget proposal is usually...

There are four days of legislative session remaining, during which time state lawmakers will debate many important issues that affect taxpayers in the state of Illinois. Here is what you need to know going into the last week of session.

No budget … yet

At this point in session, a state budget proposal is usually released. However, this year Republican lawmakers — and taxpayers — have been left in the dark. Democrats have a supermajority in both the Illinois House and Senate, resulting in unilateral budget negotiations without any input from Republicans. A budget will be introduced within the next week and legislators are likely to vote on a bill that they have not reviewed or even seen. In fact, it is likely that the Illinois state budget will be passed on the same day it is introduced. This is problematic for many reasons, especially considering the fact that Illinois’ spending is out of control.

The General Assembly looks to implement ObamaCare

On Memorial Day, the House voted to drastically expand Medicaid – one of the major provisions of ObamaCare. Not only are the costs of implementing an expansion of Medicaid completely unknown, but the passage of this bill also will overload a program that is already on the brink of collapse.

In other states, we have seen the passage of ObamaCare as a bipartisan effort. However, due to the enormous, unknown fiscal impacts, Illinois House and Senate Republican members all voted against the measure. State Rep. Patti Bellock, R-Hinsdale, led the House Republican negotiations over the past year and showed great leadership. We applaud both Republican caucuses on this vote.

In the next four days, it is likely that the General Assembly will take up another provision of ObamaCare — the state-funded health insurance exchange. Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills dropped from $8.5 billion in April to $5.8 billion today — but the Illinois comptroller predicts that the state’s unpaid bills will grow to $7.5 billion by August. The state simply cannot afford to create an exchange, nor is it under any obligation to do so.

Another pension mess 

The two pension bills being discussed with just one week of the legislative session remaining are Senate President John Cullerton’s union-backed pension plan and House Speaker Mike Madigan’s pension proposal. Neither bill provides real reform as they keep the 1995 Edgar ramp in place, include a funding guarantee (read: future tax hikes) and preserve the state’s defined benefit system.  As we have pointed out, both of these bills would perpetuate the state’s pension crisis.

Cullerton and Madigan’s pension “reform” plans offer two very different approaches to solving the state’s pension crisis, but both approaches fall dramatically short of the reform Illinois needs.

Next steps on this front remain difficult to predict, as Madigan is not expected to call Cullerton’s bill for a vote in the House, and Cullerton is equally disinterested in calling Madigan’s bill in the Senate. The next week will determine if any pension bill will be passed this year.

Progressive tax opposition mounting

During the final days of this legislative session, there will be a significant push to get members to support a House Resolution in opposition to a progressive tax in Illinois. The resolution was inspired by the Illinois Policy Institute’s pioneering work to get the truth out about the next tax grab. To date, there are 45 sponsors of House Resolution 241, including Democratic co-sponsor state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo.

However, in order to show a lack of support for the progressive tax, three additional sponsors to HR 241 are needed; a minimum of 48 sponsors is required to block the supermajority vote that is required to amend the Illinois Constitution.

The next week will be a huge step toward defeating the progressive tax in Illinois.

The clock is ticking in Springfield, and we will continue to be at the Capitol, working to promote fiscal responsibility and job creation in Illinois.