Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno is working to pass a new budget compromise aimed at ending the 19-month-long impasse Illinois residents have been living with.
The bill, which was negotiated by Radogno, (R-Lemont) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), has far reaching effects on taxpayer wallets, but does little to change the way state money is spent.
The compromise is being called the "grand bargain,” but the outcome may be anything but grand as far as the Illinois Policy Institute is concerned. The public policy group has raised several concerns about the proposed budget, including the effective tax hikes for residents in the Land of Lincoln.
“The proposal hikes personal income taxes up to 4.95 percent, up from the current 3.75 percent and corporate rates to 7 percent from 5.25 percent," the Illinois Policy Project said in its analysis. "This will cost Illinoisans at least $5 billion a year, or an additional two weeks of pay."
Even with property tax freezes in place for the next two years, taxes could rise in the state where already residents have one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. An additional penny per ounce tax on sugary drinks could cost Illinoisans $200 million to 300 million annually.
“(Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno) is pushing the Democrats’ agenda – in the form of a legislative 'grand bargain' complete with huge tax increases and fake reforms," Pat Hughes, Illinois Opportunity Project Co-Founder said previously. "I mean, she’s already entertained a tax on soda – and not because she cares about your health – and something called – I kid you not – a “business opportunity tax,” which will do nothing other than give businesses the opportunity to flee to Wisconsin or Indiana. So why has she done this? The answer: Because she never has been, and is not now, a free market conservative."
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