In this issue:
- Governor delivers State of the State Address
- Energy tax increase proposed
- School choice tax credit up for discussion this spring
- Valentines for Seniors
Governor delivers State of the State Address
Governor Pritzker gave his State of the State and budget address this week. The Governor finally admitted that Illinois’ financial chickens are coming home to roost, but then he proceeded to blame everyone but himself or Democrats for their arrival. He even attempted to shift the blame onto the federal government.
Under Governor Pritzker, state spending in Illinois has gone up by 37%. From a nearly $40 billion state budget in 2019, the state now spends over $55 billion a year. Illinois’ fiscal problems are due to overspending, not lack of support from Washington. Nor can we blame our budget woes on a lack of taxation. Every year, the Governor has signed new, higher taxes into law. And every year Democrats come back asking for more of your hard-earned money.
The state has many important priorities which deserve funding: our schools, roads, rural hospitals, public safety, veterans, just to name a few. The Governor made a commitment in his speech to invest in nuclear power in Illinois, setting a goal of ensuring clean, reliable power for two million Illinois homes. This was an important priority I was glad to hear him include.
But over the past few years, the state has lost sight of its most important priorities and spent billions for much more questionable purposes, like free health care for those in the state illegally. Now we are confronted with a fiscal crisis: a multi-billion dollar shortfall.
While I would have liked to have heard our Governor and the administration in power take some responsibility for helping to get us into the tough spot we are in, I was glad to hear him finally admit that the state needs to rediscover some fiscal responsibility and sustainability.
We still have three months to go before the end of session and the deadline to pass a balanced state budget for the people we represent. I hope that we see a real commitment to fiscal responsibility as the budget is put together.
Energy tax increase proposed
The latest tax increase proposal to be floated in Springfield is a tax likely to hit energy producers like oil refiners, electric utilities and natural gas providers.
House Bill 4773 is a vaguely-worded proposal for a tax on those determined to have a “liability for climate change” and would create a “Climate Change Superfund” for dispersing the funds collected. The bill is not clear on who would pay the taxes, but it seems to be directed at any firm which can be pronounced “liable” for climate change. These firms would then be put in a position to have to take more money from their customers to pay into the new Superfund. The most likely way for the companies to collect these funds would be to raise energy prices.
Once the new tax is created, it would be levied not by the General Assembly, but by an administrative agency, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). IEPA would then use the administrative rule process to impose the tax on companies it determines are liable. Illinoisans would have no say in the new taxation through their elected representatives.
The bill was filed a couple of weeks ago and is now sitting in the House Rules Committee.
School choice tax credit up for discussion this spring
A new federal law creates a tax credit which would allow eligible taxpayers to use for money they donate to an approved educational scholarship foundation. The new dollar-for-dollar income tax credit would generate potential benefits for taxpayers and Illinois schools, but only if the state government chooses to participate.
The federal law requires the educational scholarship foundations to spend the donations in such a way as to meet the educational needs of at-risk students. Traditionally this has meant private elementary and secondary schools which provide tuition scholarships to students. But lately a growing number of Illinois public schools have set up tax-exempt foundations to encourage donation activity. The federal law permits tax credit scholarship donations for private or public schools.
There is legislation pending in Springfield to have Illinois join this federal tax credit. The federal tax credit is similar to the tax credit scholarship program which Illinois had until just a couple of years ago when it was allowed to expire.
Valentines for Seniors
Thank you to everyone who donated cards for our Senior Valentine’s Card Drive hosted with State Senator Chris Balkema and State Representative Dennis Tipsword! The residents at the facilities truly enjoyed the creative artwork and thoughtful messages.
We appreciate your kindness and support!
Our current bill backlog
When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state’s checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $2,111,050,233. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $2.4 billion in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state’s pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.
Illinois headlines
EPA reapproves use of dicamba for resistant cotton, soybeans
Illinois to go paperless with vehicle titles
Iroquois County farmer awarded farmer veteran honor
Local fire agencies reminding people about burning safety tips