While J.B. Pritzker has not released a detailed tax plan of his own, reasonable cost estimates suggest the tax hike required to pay for the candidate’s spending promises would require doubling Illinois’ state income tax rate and cost the state an estimated 132,000 jobs and $31.3 billion in forgone GDP.

It is time to give taxpayers and businesses the certainty they need to plan a long-term future in the state.

History shows lawmakers prefer to avoid tough but necessary choices.

The state’s backlog of unpaid bills is expected to reach $22.7 billion if Illinois goes a third fiscal year without a budget.

Tax-hike proponents claim there’s no way to fix Illinois’ chronic budget problems without more money. They want Illinoisans to believe the state’s tax revenues simply aren’t enough to cover the cost of government. But tax revenues aren’t the real problem. Illinois’ perennial budget crises stem from the state’s persistent overspending and misplaced spending priorities. The...

Munger said that if raising taxes were the only answer to the budget crisis, lawmakers would have to increase the income tax from its current 3.75 percent to 8 percent.

Major ratings agencies have assigned a negative outlook to Illinois. To move forward, the state can’t pass just any budget – especially one that’s $7 billion out-of-whack – to get beyond its crisis. With today’s fiscal stress, a bad budget is worse than no budget. A budget without reforms will only allow Illinois’ debt to continue to spiral, putting investors – and more importantly, Illinois residents – at risk.

llinois Comptroller Leslie Munger said Speaker Madigan's budget proposal would increase the state's unpaid bills to $15 billion and cause eight to nine month payment delays for vendors.