SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Latest on legislative action in Springfield (all times local):
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4:45 p.m.
An Illinois Senate committee is considering increasing a proposed income-tax increase slightly and appears to have embraced an excise tax on some products. It’s part of a massive Senate plan to break a budget deadlock with Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The Senate plan called for a 32 percent increase in the personal income tax - from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent. The Revenue Committee heard a revised plan Tuesday to make it 4.99 percent but took no vote.
Olympia Fields Democratic Sen. Toi Hutchinson says the income tax on corporations would jump from 5.25 percent to 7 percent.
The 5 percent excise tax would be applied to services such as repair, landscaping and laundry. There was no mention of a previously proposed tax on sugary drinks such as soda pop, which drew immediate corporate criticism.
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4:15 p.m.
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton is still trying to arrange a floor vote Wednesday on a compromise budget plan even as loud opposition has arisen in the Capitol.
The Chicago Democrat told reporters the massive tax-increase and spending overhaul plan he negotiated with Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont is complex and the two leaders are having difficulty lining up votes for it. He says, “This is a tough sell.”
Radogno promised a Senate vote on the wide-ranging deal by month’s end, but skepticism emerged Tuesday when leaders announced the 13 pieces of legislation would be debated in committee hearings but not voted on. The package raises income taxes, freezes property taxes, making cost-saving changes to pension funds and workers’ compensation, expands casino gambling and more.
Cullerton says he’s still pushing because “it’s an emergency.” The state has gone nearly two years without an approved budget plan.
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11:50 a.m.
The Illinois Senate is putting the brakes on a compromise budget plan, but a key Democrat says there could still be a floor vote this week.
Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Don Harmon says some members weren’t ready to vote on the massive proposal designed to break a nearly two-year budget deadlock with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The plan comprises 13 pieces of legislation, including an income-tax increase, property-tax freeze and cost-saving overhaul of the state pension system.
Harmon says leaders still hope to have floor votes on Wednesday. Lemont Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno (ruh-DOHN’-yoh) set a Feb. 1 deadline for Senate action.
Republican state Sen. Chris Nybo (NYE’-boh) of Elmhurst called the package “fluid” and says it still needs discussion and negotiation.
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4:30 a.m.
The Illinois Senate plans to plow ahead with its proposed budget compromise to end the nearly 2-year-old deadlock with Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Five committees are scheduled to meet Tuesday to debate 13 pieces of legislation that Democrats and Republicans in the Senate worked out - if only to gain traction on the problem that has left Illinois without an annual spending plan for two years.
The measures include an income-tax increase, a massive pension overhaul to save up to $1 billion a year, a property-tax freeze and a change in the way public schools are funded. There are measures for riverboat casino expansion and for borrowing money to pay overdue bills.
Senate leaders vow floor votes on Wednesday. There’s no guarantee the House would act on a Senate-endorsed package.
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