By ALLYSIA FINLEY
March 28, 2014 12:09 p.m. ET
WSJ
“I will be forthright and specific,” declared Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday in the prelude to his budget address, which was anything but that.
The Democratic governor, who assumed office in January 2009 in the wake of his predecessor Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment, is up for re-election this year. So naturally, his budget speech is really a stump speech. Hence, Mr. Quinn omitted references to the state’s income and corporate tax hikes in January 2011, which will are slated to sunset at the end of the year.
Instead, he noted that “the issue of expiring revenue this year is a real challenge” because “extreme and radical cuts will be imposed on education and critical public services” if “action is not taken to stabilize our revenue code.”
But don’t worry, Illinois taxpayers, because Mr. Quinn has promised not to “institute any new, unfair taxes on everyday services” or create “a new and unfair tax burden on everyday families and the small businesses” or “tax the social security checks.” Instead, he is proposing “comprehensive tax reform,” including a “guaranteed $500 property tax refund.” Meantime, he will “maintain current income tax rates.”