With regard to your and Dave’s comments: Dave, I respectfully disagree with you. We do have a spending problem. We have several continuing appropriations in our budget (pensions) that we ignored for six years, we do top-down budgeting instead of zero-based budgeting, a technique that revealed itself as fatally flawed this year, and yet we increased spending every year. All of the social services you mention in your post are worthy of the funding they receive, but to say we do not have a spending problem is, in my view, inaccurate.

I hear over and over again in my district: We know there is a revenue problem, we do not want to see social services cut, but please, please, fix the way the state does business before coming to us to raise our taxes.

Families, in the last year, have had to make tough choices. They forgo more, spend fewer dollars, and are, in many cases, afraid to go to the mailbox. They made tough choices. Why shouldn’t we as a state government? Why shouldn’t we take a look at a two-tiered pension system to relieve some of the burden on our checkbook? Why shouldn’t we ask state employees (including Geneal Assembly members) to take some furlough days? If we do those things, then I’ll be happy to re-evaluate my vote.

I am not ignorant of the fact that the state needs more revenue. I get it. Trust me, I get it. But if we raise more revenue without a major overhaul of how we spend money, we will be right back where we are in the near future? Do you want to go though all of this again? I certainly don’t.

Again, thanks for giving me the opportunity to discuss these issues in this forum. And please, please, know that whoever stated I said I couldn’t vote for an income tax increase because I was “new” is wrong. I never said that. Ever.

Illinois already has very low spending levels relative to other states. Illinois already has a very low number of state employers relative to other states. Illinois also has a very low tax burden relative to other states.

Do you think that social service spending should be slashed? Is that the spending that your district doesn’t like? Or do they not like seniors and people with disabilities receiving home care, allowing them to stay out of nursing homes (and by doing so costing the state less money)?

Illinois does not have a spending problem. Illinois has a revenue problem. Part of this problem is that Illinois relies on fluctuating incomes to provide consistent revenue for state operations and grants. Part of the problem is that Illinois, the country, and the world is facing a recession and causing revenues to plummet. And part of the problem is that Illinois’ tax system is simply broken, and places too much weight on the lower and middle classes while not bringing enough money.

Lets fix the revenue problem instead of pretending there is a spending problem.

Incidentally, our representatives also don’t need “requisite knowledge” to be elected– just the ability to do the right thing by the people who count on them.

I support fixing the way we spend money. Absolutely.

But that should not be done on the backs of the people who can least afford it. The people who use social services are not leeches, as I’ve heard them crassly referred to during this ugly budget debate. They are our mothers, our fathers, our sisters, our brothers, and our children.

We must increase taxes now by a little bit, or we’ll be paying the cost down the road in a much bigger way.

1rep·re·sen·ta·tive

Pronunciation: \ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv\
Function: adjective
Date: 14th century
1: serving to represent
2 a: standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority b: of, based on, or constituting a government in which the many are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election
3: serving as a typical or characteristic example
4: of or relating to representation or representationalism
— rep·re·sen·ta·tive·ly adverb
— rep·re·sen·ta·tive·ness noun
— rep·re·sen·ta·tiv·i·ty \-ˌzen-tə-ˈti-və-tē\ noun

First, Illinois is facing a huge reduction in expected revenue due to the struggling economy. The lower than expected income taxes alone make up approximately $3 billion this year.

Second, in a time of economic recession, state provided services become even more necessary, as demand increases due to shrinking income levels, higher unemployment, etc.

As for Illinois’ revenue stream, you are correct that the State brings in more revenue than most states. But that is also because it is bigger than most states. You cannot simply compare total revenue state by state, as different states have different avenues to bring in money and different needs that the revenue must fund.

As for being fiscally responsible, Illinois already has the lowest number of state workers per capita in the country, one of the lowest spending levels in the country, and one of the lowest tax burdens in this country.

You are correct that the blame lies in Springfield. But for different reasons than you think. Illinois does not have a spending problem. It has a revenue problem that politicians have refused to fix because they fear it threatens their hold on power. We need to let them know that we will not stand for these service cuts, and that we want our taxes raised.

So yes, Illinois really does need more revenue, and it needs significant revenue that can only be obtained through raising the income tax. Illinois simply cannot afford to do otherwise.