Illinois Senate passes permanent income tax hike to governor’s desk
The Illinois Senate on July 4 approved the House’s budget plan, which Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he will veto.
The Illinois Senate on Independence Day voted to send a 32 percent income tax hike to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk as part of a larger budget plan.
Senate Bill 9, the revenue portion of the budget plan that includes tax hikes, needed 36 votes to pass and was approved on a 36-18 vote. One Republican, Sen. Dale Righter of Mattoon, voted yes. Two Democrats, Sens. Tom Cullerton and Julie Morrison, voted no.
Members of the Senate passed the spending portion of the budget on a 39-14 vote. Righter and three other Republicans voted for the spending bill, including state Sens. Neil Anderson, Dale Fowler and Sam McCann.
SB 9 hikes the personal income tax to 4.95 percent from 3.75 percent, and hikes the corporate tax to 7 percent from 5.25 percent. It is devoid of structural spending reforms to slow the cost of government, lacking major pension reform, collective bargaining reform, comprehensive property tax reform, Medicaid reform and more.
Illinoisans may recall the 2011 temporary income tax hike, which also took a tax-hike-without-reform approach. Despite $32 billion in extra tax revenue, the state’s unpaid bill backlog only declined by $1.3 billion (to $6.6 billion from $7.9 billion), and pension debt rose by $25 billion.
Rauner announced yesterday he would veto the budget plan in its current form. However, the House and Senate could override the governor’s veto with three-fifths majority votes – the same number of votes needed to get the plan to Rauner’s desk in the first place.
The following is the Senate roll call for SB 9, which includes the permanent income tax hike:
Democrats voting yes (35): Aquino, Bennett, Bertino-Tarrant, Biss, Bush, Castro, Clayborne, Collins, J. Cullerton, Cunningham, Haine, Harmon, Harris, Hastings, Holmes, Hunter, Hutchinson, Jones, Koehler, Landek, Lightford, Link, Manar, Martinez, McGuire, Mulroe, Muñoz, Murphy, Raoul, Sandoval, Silvertstein, Stadelman, Steans, Trotter, Van Pelt.
Republicans voting yes (1): Righter.
Democrats voting no (2): T. Cullerton, Morrison.
Republicans voting no (16): Althoff, Anderson, Barickman, Bivins, Brady, Connelly, Fowler, McCann, McConchie, McConnaughay, Rooney, Rose, Schimpf, Syverson, Tracy, Weaver.
Republicans not voting (4): McCarter, Nybo, Oberweis, Rezin.