The top Democrat in Illinois’ state senate is preparing for a divide between his chamber and the new Republican governor.
John Cullerton will run the senate in Springfield this year with a supermajority of Democrats. He’s critical of Governor Bruce Rauner for allowing the income tax rate to drop more than one percentage point.
“When our income tax rate goes from 5 percent down to 3.75, probably the biggest winner in the state was Bruce Rauner himself in his own taxes going down.”
Cullerton is referring to Rauner’s personal wealth. The governor reported that he made $60 million in 2013.
Cullerton says lower taxes means he’s waiting to see where Rauner proposes billions of dollars in cuts to balance the budget.
Rauner has said he wants to create new taxes- particularly on services like storage units and attorney’s fees.
Cullerton says the Senate has supported that idea in the past - but he doesn’t want to see poor people pay more for everyday services, like an oil change.