Update | 1:45 p.m. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady responds to the budget address:
"Governor Quinn layed out one of the most irresponsible budgets the people of Illinois have ever seen, perpetuating the status quo of massive borrowing and spending that got us into the fiscal crisis we face today. It's almost like Governor Blagojevich never left Springfield. What's worse is this address should have been given from Quinn's campaign office because it's clear his budget proposal is nothing more than political theatre to get him reelected in November. Raising taxes 33% on Illinois families is not the answer to fixing this budget mess. Republican Senator Bill Brady is in line with the people of Illinois who want fiscal responsibility and reform - neither of which Quinn is willing to bring to the table."
The 33 percent tax increase refers to Quinn's education-surcharge proposal, which would raise state taxes by 1 percent, a third of the state's current 3 percent tax increase.
Original post: Who wants to vote against education?
That, essentially, was Gov. Pat Quinn's dare to Illinois legislators during his annual budget address today. The speech, 22 minutes, was a dramatic contrast with his nebulous State of the State address that was more than three times longer.
For months, he has been calling for a broad state income-tax increase that would help fund several areas of the state's spending. Today, he narrowed the scope of that tax, proposing a smaller, 1 percent tax increase that would go solely toward education funding in Illinois.
Quinn acknowledged "conventional wisdom" that it is difficult to pass a tax increase during an election year, particularly as state Democrats face stiff opposition from Republicans who call them wasteful.
But he tried to back them into a corner, explaining that the state does not have enough money to replace federal stimulus dollars for education that are set to expire on July 1.
Quinn's aides have warned that, as it stands, the state's budget would lead to about 13,000 layoffs for teachers and other staff. Voting against his tax proposal would, in Quinn's words, "starve" education at all levels of Illinois.
Quinn's focus on education puts legislators in a difficult political spot.
Democrats will face growing pressure from teachers' unions that heartily fund their campaign committees.
And Republicans, who have consistently resisted a tax increase, will be need to readjust their message to explain why even education funding isn't important enough to ask taxpayers for more money this year.
An important point is that by pushing the education tax, Quinn has essentially conceded that he could not pass a larger, more general tax in a General Assembly controlled by his own party.
The 1 percent tax would not address other huge problems in Illinois' budget, most notably the state's deeply underfunded pensions.
Expect Republicans to harp on that point as they try to manuever the conversation toward spending reforms and away from the sensitive topic of schools.
Windy Citizen 