By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Chances of a budget deal that would include at least $5 billion in tax increases took a hit Wednesday when House Democrats pushed for votes on reform measures that Republicans say are too watered down to do any good.
In order to sign off on a budget package that includes such a significant tax hike, Gov. Bruce Rauner said he wants a property tax freeze and meaningful reforms to state pensions, workers compensation and other items that would provide some relief to taxpayers and job creators.
Walking away from ongoing negotiations on several of these reform bills, House Democrats approved pension and workers compensation bills Wednesday on simple majority votes and with no Republican support. The measures didn’t require a two-thirds supermajority because they wouldn’t take effect until June 2018, but they’re unlikely to survive a Rauner veto.
With just two days to go until the end of the fiscal year, Republicans criticized Democrats’ tactics, saying that the measures as written don’t provide meaningful benefits and further meetings to work on them are scheduled.
Rep. Allen Skillicorn, R-East Dundee, said Democrats are playing games but, regardless how meaningful the reforms are, Republicans shouldn’t vote for a tax increase.
“We’re definitely seeing political theater here. We’re not seeing real movements,” Skillicorn said. But once we see the Democrats’ actual [budget implementation bill] and revenue package, we will know more. But let me make it crystal clear, no Republicans should vote for a tax hike. No way.”
Rep Lou Lang, D-Skokie, and other Democrats countered that Republicans are getting a lot of what they want and should accept them as wins.
“Each one of these cases we’ve gone a long way to satisfy the governor’s request … 80 to 90 percent of what we wanted is pretty good,” Lang said. “Who gets 90 percent of what they want in life, let alone in Springfield. We can make all things that need to happen by the artificial deadline of June 30th at midnight if everyone will work together.”
Republicans opposed Democrats’ workers compensation reform bill because it doesn’t lower costs for businesses that pay the eighth highest workers’ comp costs in the country.
“While the House Democrat caucus proposal makes some small changes that will result in a tiny savings, it also have several provisions that will increase costs on employers more significantly,” the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association said in a statement, adding that the bill passed Wednesday “does not represent a compromise nor do they represent real and meaningful reform that will make Illinois more attractive for job creators.”
Illinois has lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000. Since the end of the Great Recession, Illinois has not seen manufacturing job growth while its Midwest neighbors have grown jobs by the tens of thousands. Michigan has added 163,000 manufacturing jobs since 2009, Indiana 90,000, Ohio 83,000 and Wisconsin 43,000. Manufacturers have blamed the state’s high workers’ compensation costs and highest-in-the-nation property taxes for the loss of jobs here.
A property tax freeze bill that also was called for a vote by House Democrats Wednesday failed because Republicans said it contained too many exemptions to matter. It got a majority of votes, 59 yes to 46 no, but needed a supermajority to be approved.
The Democrats’ bill would provide for a four-year property tax freeze, but it would exempt debt and pension levies from the freeze, and exclude altogether the city of Chicago, the city’s school system and about 17 other school districts considered in financial distress by the Illinois State Board of Education. It also does not include a GOP element to allow local voters to decide the level of the property tax levy via future referenda, something Gov. Rauner has said is essential.
“This bill does nothing to really solve the cost drivers to property taxes ever-increasing problems,” Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, said.
David Allen Welter, R-Morris, said Republicans already had come to the middle with their own reform efforts.
“If you look at the bills that the Republicans filed in the last couple of weeks here, those were bills that were fairly brought to the middle compared to where we were before on a lot of issues, so what we’re seeing out here in my opinion is not real compromise bills,” Welter said. “They’re bills that have names of compromises but don’t do what we’re looking for. So I’m not going to accept watered down reforms.”
Rauner also issued a statement Wednesday that if lawmakers don’t get a balanced budget package to his desk, “we will have no choice but to keep them in session until they get the job done.”
