[Vision2020] Raise Our Taxes

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Illinois Issues Blog at:

http://illinoisissuesblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/raise-our-taxes.html

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"Raise our taxes"
By Jamey Dunn and Rachel Wells

Citizens advocating for an income tax increase to avoid deep cuts to the
state budget packed the Illinois Capitol today for one of the largest
rallies in recent history.

The secretary of state’s office estimated that 12,000 people participated
in the march and 15,000 total were in the Capitol complex as part of the
rally.

With chants of “We’ll remember in November” and “Save our schools. Save
our state,” protesters marched around the Statehouse and then filled the
halls. They came to advocate for education and social services, such as
mental health care, addiction counseling and in-home care for the elderly.

“We have tens of thousands of people whose well-being is at stake if this
state does not act. So I’m here to advocate for responsible decisions, a
tax increase to support social services in this state, and I’m happy to
join these thousands and thousands of people who have come out here to do
this,” said Rev. Bob Rasmus, board member for Lutheran Social Services and
a pastor in Urbana.

Jo Ann Woods-Payne from ABJ Community Services on the southeast side of
Chicago said she came out today to support HB 174 so her organization can
continue to provide programs such as foster care, job training for public
aid recipients and a clothing and food pantry. She said the state is
behind on its payments to ABJ for the social services it offers in the
community.

“We feel possibly that the income tax needs to be raised if that’s what
it’s going to take to help keep those programs open for our clients,” she
said.

“We have to have a balanced budget, and we passed an income tax over in
the Senate, which is now in the House, which provides $4.3 billion. So we
hope that they would take a second look,” Senate President John Cullerton
said of HB 174. “We passed the bill. And that’s the solution to a lot of
our problems.”

However, Republicans in both chambers do not seem any closer to supporting
a tax increase.

“I like having [the rally participants] come here because there is not
better way for me to explain my position on what’s going in this building
and the way I think this state works its way out of its fiscal mess than
to talk one-on-one individually with those people,” said Sen. Dale
Righter, a Mattoon Republican.

Righter said many of his constituents were at the rally but the message of
chants such as “Raise our taxes” did not echo the opinions of the majority
of the people he represents. “I don’t know that that kind of theater is
necessarily representative of most the people in my district.”

Righter voted against HB 174 last year and said he will not consider a tax
increase until there are cuts and reforms to Medicaid, which he says is
growing in an unsustainable way.

“If you don’t fix those two things first 
 it’s all but a guarantee [that]
a tax increase comes, you layer a whole bunch, billions of dollars of new
taxpayer money, on top of what’s happening here and then it all seeps
through the cracks that they’ve created in the last eight years and then 

we start over in a couple years.”

Righter said that he doesn’t think the rally will change the minds of many
legislators who are opposed to a tax increase. He also doesn't think
Democrats are willing to take the political risk to pass a tax increase
before the November general elections.

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Photos from the rally . . .

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dYUVdJZjJNw/S893i7auZRI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/nN-JsalFWeA/s1600/rallyshot1.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dYUVdJZjJNw/S893zqyGl4I/AAAAAAAAAMY/JTHlLfmJtV4/s320/rallyroof.jpg

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown