Democrats in the Illinois Senate are preparing to go it alone on a budget plan. On Tues. morning, they’re set to consider both spending cuts and tax increases.
In the Senate, Democrats and Republicans had been trying to work together to end Illinois’ nearly 23-month budget standoff. But an overall deal has remained elusive since January.
With just days remaining in the legislative session, last week Democratic senators moved ahead with some of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s non-budget demands.
Now they’re advancing budget legislation.
The plan calls for a permanent income-tax increase, from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent. It’d also crease new taxes on satellite television, and extend the sales tax to cover some services, like dry cleaning, pest control, and tattooing.
Of course, even if the Senate does manage to pass the tax increases, Rauner has said he would veto them if they were not also paired with the permanent property tax freeze.
