Central Illinois officials are decrying Governor Bruce Rauner’s proposed cuts to local income tax revenue.
Rauner’s proposed spending plan calls for cutting the tax revenue by fifty-percent. Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis says reducing the Local Government Distributive Fund would cut $5.6 million from the city’s budget:
“For the most part it seems like there are no scared cows in Springfield right now. But the LGDF is our money, and always has been since 1969.”
The mayors of Pekin, East Peoria, Washington and county officials also spoke out against Rauner’s proposed plan. They say the income tax cuts would force layoffs, necessitate use of reserves, and tax hikes, or some combination to balance the reduction in funds.