No Exit Strategy from Illinois Budget Standoff
ICPR’s Illinois Budget Forum is mentioned in this article
via Madison Record
“Eight members of Illinois’ General Assembly met on Monday at a forum to discuss the state’s prolonged budget impasse. Although the legislators agreed in general that reforms are necessary to break Illinois’ budget gridlock – now in its 10th month – there was no indication that the Illinois General Assembly, or these officials in particular, had formed a clear exit strategy.
The Illinois Budget: Defining & Funding the Essential Priorities, organized by The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and Truth in Accounting, featured Representatives Bellock (R), Crespo (D), Davis (D), Harris (D), Morrison (R), and Pritchard (R), as well as Senators Murphy (R) and Steans (D).
Sen. Murphy and Rep. Morrison both called for amending the Illinois Constitution’s government-employee pension protection clause to solve the state’s towering unfunded government pension liabilities, which was the best measure offered at the forum, although also the one with the greatest difficulty to pass. The most worrying proposals for taxpayers were only abstract, and the suggestions varied, including increasing sales taxes or expanding the sales tax base, a graduated state income tax, hiking the state income tax, and imposing a new income tax on retirement benefits.”
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