Illinois lawmakers vote to rename a portion of Roosevelt Road ‘Muhammad Ali Road’
Instead of working to pass a budget, House representatives passed a nonbinding resolution to rename a portion of Roosevelt Road on the boundary line of Chicago and Cicero.
The Illinois House of Representatives adjourned from special session after just 10 minutes and 41 seconds June 22 without advancing budget negotiations.
But in a subsequent executive session, House representatives passed a House Joint Resolution 46, which renames a stretch of Roosevelt Road on the boundary line of Chicago and Cicero “Muhammad Ali Road.”
June 22 marked the second day of a special session called by Gov. Bruce Rauner, who expressed the need for urgency in passing a budget before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
The House made little progress on the first day of the session June 21. Legislators convened for less than eight minutes, agreeing to let regular House rules as established by House Speaker Michael Madigan apply to the special session before adjourning until the next day.
The Senate adjourned from special session after just 11 minutes and 54 seconds. The special legislative session will cost taxpayers about $50,000 per day, according to an estimate by the Chicago Tribune.
Both sides of the aisle in Springfield claim to want a compromise on a budget to prevent Illinois from becoming the first state in the union with a junk credit rating. Both Democrats and Republicans have proposed plans to raise taxes by more than $5 billion, which would increase the average Illinois household’s tax burden by more than $1,125 each year. But Illinoisans have expressed that they don’t want a budget that hikes taxes.
Nearly two-thirds of likely Illinois voters don’t want an income tax hike as part of the state budget, according to polling conducted by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates and commissioned by the Illinois Policy Institute. More than three-quarters of respondents oppose hiking sales taxes. And nearly 80 percent agree “Illinois state lawmakers should pass major structural reforms before passing any tax increase.”
The Illinois Policy Institute has introduced a budget proposal that offers real reform without raising taxes. This kind of reform-minded, no-tax-hike proposal is in line with what Illinoisans want. Lawmakers should use that as a framework while taxpayers pay for their costly special session.