Senate President John Cullerton and other top Democrats are accusing Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner of working behind the scenes to sabotage the controversial proposed "grand bargain" that could bring an end to Illinois’ historic run of no state budget.
“Unfortunately, I've been informed that the governor decided to interject himself in this process and doesn't want this approved in this form," Cullerton said.
Cullerton and his Democratic allies control the Senate and what can come to the floor, but no votes were held on the 12-bill proposal on March 1. Instead of using their majority to force a vote, Democrats spent the day providing plenty of fireworks by launching their attack on Rauner, raising the question of whether Cullerton has enough votes in his own caucus for the measure to prevail.
As it stands, Cullerton conceded the bill seems to have little chance of attracting Republican support outside of Minority Leader Christine Radogno, with whom he has spent the past several months crafting the bipartisan legislation.
The resistance to the "grand bargain" among Republican senators appears to be the plan's heavy reliance on increased taxes. Under the proposed deal, personal income tax rates would rise from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent. Some have even floated a 5.25 percent rate.
Overall, the deal raises taxes on Illinoisans by nearly $7 billion, according to the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI).
"The plan would hike personal and corporate income taxes by 33 percent and expand sales taxes to include services, food and drugs," the Chicago-based think tank said in a statement. "An expansion of the sales tax to services exposes Illinoisans to a slew of new taxes, broadening politicians’ ability to hit up taxpayers yet again in the near future."
Other GOP leaders dismissed their Democratic colleagues as simply making excuses for a plan that may have been doomed from the outset based on its limited appeal among conservatives in general, as well as union and business leaders.
"As you all know, this has been a bipartisan venture. It's going to take support from both sides of the aisle to pass this legislation,” Cullerton said. The package includes tax hikes, property tax freezes and pension reforms.
After Rauner and House Speaker Mike Madigan were largely kept out of the loop about early on "grand bargain" negotiations, Rauner weighed in on developments during his Feb. 15 budget address, saying that he would only sign off on an income tax increase if it came with a permanent property tax freeze instead of the two-year moratorium now being proposed as part of the deal.
Meanwhile, Radogno did all she could to refute the notion that she was being hung out to dry by Rauner, insisting that both sides are desperate for an agreement to lift the state out of its financial doldrums.
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