IL governor raises prospect of tax hike in budget speech

Chicago Public Schools filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the governor and state education officials, claiming the way IL funds its schools violates the civil rights of the predominantly-minority student population in the nation’s third-largest school district. The Chicago Sun Times reported that Chicago’s school system slashed almost $104 million with furlough days and spending freezes and suggested a revised version of its $5.4 billion operating budget, which was still short $111 million. There is a backlog of $11 billion in overdue bills.

Rauner said in order to bring more jobs to IL, the state must reform the worker’s compensation system, re-direct the nation’s highest property tax and get term limits and redistricting on the ballots.

“We need a permanent property tax freeze in IL, just like the one the House passed last month”, he said. Other spending has continued, however, because of court orders or state law.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has slammed the administration’s attempts to overhaul worker’s compensation as too pro-business and harmful to workers.

Some state Democrats criticized the speech for not providing concrete solutions to the state budget crisis.

“It’s not the court’s job to unstick the branches if they remain stuck 19 months later”, Legner said. He says IL needs solutions, “not political buzz words.” Sen.

“What we just want to see happen is that the governor and legislature can work together to get a budget for the State of IL, we want to see fully funded general state aid”, Dosier said.

A St. Clair County judge ruled Thursday afternoon that the state’s employees can still be paid absent a specific appropriation from the General Assembly. The city of Chicago stands to gain major new property tax revenue, along with the jobs that come with a massive development.

The long-shot “grand bargain” budget deal being negotiated by Democratic and Republican Senate leaders is still alive, senators said Wednesday. “Most of the savings he’s claiming are at the expense of state workers and middle class families”.

“The nation is looking at us”, Rep. Swanson said of the Kewanee facility’s aim to reduce repeat offenders.

Gov. Bruce Rauner will reject an increased sales tax on food and medicine and demand a permanent property-tax freeze in his third budget announcement. He also suggested that the circumstances in the case of state worker pay were too unique to defer to last year’s Supreme Court ruling in another case.

Bruce Rauner will propose that the state pay to add hundreds of state troopers to combat the growing number of shooting incidents on Chicago area expressways. Several of the less-controversial bills cleared the Senate earlier this month but the pension reform bill failed as Republicans withheld their support in opposition to Senate President John Cullerton’s decision to call the bills before final agreements were reached on all of them. “This attitude is what’s needed from everyone if we are going to move IL forward”.