The editors of the Chicago Tribune remark on the tax increase and budget:
Ask yourselves, House members: Would this tax increase create jobs here? Grow Illinois’ economy? Stop our young people from taking their careers to Texas, Florida, Colorado, California …
Some of you voted for another tax increase on the notorious night of 1/11/11. Remember all those promises from Democratic leaders? Remember how they designed it to be temporary? Remember how they later tried to blame Rauner for, um, letting their temporary tax hike expire? That increase took $31 billion from taxpayers and hurt Illinois’ job climate. The legislators who supported the hike of 1/11/11 had to own that vote.
So, House members, if you’ve delivered solutions — on property taxes, on pensions, on work comp, on government bloat in Illinois — then maybe you should vote to override Rauner’s veto.
Because if you can boast of real reforms, you’ll have an answer when all those taxpaying constituents look you in the eye and ask: “A 32-percent price increase — for what?”
The editors know very well that the legislature has no interest in reform. Reforms bring them nothing but pain. Tax increases on the other hand keep the party going just a little longer.
