It’s a great idea to have followed legions of Illinois politicians, from ex-Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch to Kaegi predecessor Jim Houlihan, for at least three decades. Exchange higher state taxes, likely on income, to lower the hated property tax.
Unfortunately, it is just as unlikely to come into force today as it was then. Not because it’s a bad idea – it’s a great idea – but because most Illinois politicians then and now lacked the courage to do what needs to be done. This should bring everyone to the table, elicit the necessary fiscal pain from each of the stakeholders and ultimately act decisively to end the slide from Illinois into an economic black hole.
Anyone who’s been in Springfield for over 10 minutes with a calculator knows what to do. Real estate taxes, which are based on value rather than income and generally ignore solvency, need to be reduced. Other taxes, including services and retirement income above a set level, need to be increased. And as part of the deal, some reasonable limits need to be placed on spending, like the totally unreasonable pensions agreement dating back to 1975, where retirees continue to see the cost of living at least a 3 percent annual increase in the cost of living at a time of inflation runs 1 percent or maybe a little more.
Democrats are certainly ready to collect taxes. And Republicans to cut spending. But if you don’t do the whole month at the same time, the deal falls apart and nothing happens. Therefore, the swap never passed because voters were never convinced that some taxes would go down if others went up.
There’s a word for that. Mistrust. Voters don’t trust Springfield. Governor JB Pritzker now knows that. While he hasn’t admitted it out loud, a lack of confidence is why voters shot down his vaunted tiered income tax change last November. And now he’s pushing for his own version of the swap, demanding that corporate groups and Republicans bring in their own revenue or cost-cutting ideas, or closing $ 934 million in “corporate tax loopholes,” some of which he has signed into law himself. But to expect a minority party to lead when you’re the leader and have a super-majority under your belt is a bit much.
The cost of Illinois politicians’ refusal to fight back and do what needs to be done is becoming clearer by the day. For example, in a March 3 report on the state’s sluggish economic outlook, Moody’s Analytics said Illinois has everything on paper that it takes to be a top job magnet. But if fiscal pressures and rising pension costs, now no more than $ 144 billion in unfunded debt, are resolved, “the state will be one step behind the Midwestern average and a few steps behind over the extended forecast horizon the nation grow. . . Over the next five years, employment in Illinois is projected to grow 6.7 percent, below 7.7 percent in the Midwest and 8.8 percent nationally. “
Sigh. Just do it, right? That means not being Bruce Rauner stubborn or JB Pritzker aloof or organizing selfish or clueless Republicans, but getting into the big room and solving the problem with a comprehensive package, something like the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club and Civic Federation proposed in recent years. This voter is fed up with the big booth. I don’t think I’m the only one.