It’s that time of year again, where even having a column printed four times a week is both not enough space to keep up on everything happening in Springfield, and also too slow to assess developments as they surface.
Capitol News Illinois reported Wednesday on Gov. JB Pritzker’s pledge against signing a budget relying on an increase to individual or corporate income taxes as well as the current sales tax rate or implementing a sales tax on services that currently carry exemptions.
Not only can a lot of development happen between my writing and your reading, but Illinoisans should actually expect plenty of new information given today’s legislative deadline. Heck, if you’re reading this with morning coffee, you know to expect plenty of things to change by the time you load the dishwasher before going to bed.
As such, we’re not going to get into the weeds on this specific budget – are there even enough details for informed speculation? – but Pritzker’s quote does open an avenue for discussion about broader issues on how the state generates revenue.
As CNI noted, Pritzker backed “targeted tax changes on businesses and sportsbooks to balance the fiscal 2025 budget” to the tune of almost $900 million. Those tweaks were fodder for anyone arguing the state’s overall tax burden is too great, but Pritzker didn’t take much political heat largely because gambling is a choice.
But it’s fair to consider who plays the odds (members of working families?) and also to extrapolate the effects on businesses and the personal incomes of the people who own and work for said corporations.
Wherever this year’s budget settles, some will argue it takes in too much and others will demand increased spending in future cycles. There’s no way to fully satisfy either camp, underscoring the importance of making sure government functions adequately for enough voters to strike a balance.
FLAG FOLLOWUP: Thursday’s column about the Illinois Flag Commission noted the Secretary of State’s Office hadn’t responded to an email inquiring about the status of the report due to the General Assembly by April 1. After the column was printed, I heard from SOS Communications Manager Max Walczyk, who shared a link to the 76-page report, available at tinyurl.com/ILFlagFinal.
The document is a great resource for understanding the entire process, especially for flag wonks. But it’s also easy to see why it landed in obscurity. The commission’s Final Recommendation: “This final report is issued to the General Assembly indicating the process of this flag commission, the vote totals as provided by members of the general public through the voting period, and with the appendices attached.”
In other words: “We did our job, on the record, and now let us never speak of it again.”
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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