SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) issued the following statement following Governor Quinn’s Annual Budget Address in Springfield on Wednesday, March 26.
Watch Sen. Rezin’s reaction after the address by clicking here
“Five years after Governor Quinn took office, he has finally presented a five year plan for Illinois, yet if it looks anything like the past five years, we won’t see any change. It will be more of the same for Illinois – high taxes, high unemployment, a decrease in population, an unbalanced budget and soaring deficits.
Three years after the income tax increase, the state has brought in an additional $26 billion in revenue – yet nothing has changed. We currently have the second highest unemployment rate in the nation, the worst credit rating in the nation, and we’re ranked last in prospective economic growth – all of which have come about under Pat Quinn. I wish we could deliver better news, but facts are facts.
Our neighboring states are tightening their belts while still providing necessary services and they have seen their deficits turn into surpluses. For example, Indiana went from a $1 billion deficit in 2011 to a $2.1 billion surplus this last year and they voted to lower their income taxes. Similarly, Wisconsin had a $3.6 billion deficit in 2011 and went to a $2.7 billion surplus. It can be done here too. We can reform and tighten our budget belt while still providing services to those that need it the most.
Illinois will not recover without policies that encourage job creation and growth and ease burdens on Illinois residents. When the tax increase was passed, it was promised that it would pay off old bills, generate jobs, improve our credit rating, and balance the budget. It was promised that it would be temporary. None of that has happened and today we’ve learned that he plans to make the temporary increase a permanent increase. We can’t trust that this five year plan will be any different because they are the very same policies of high taxes and unaffordable spending. I’m not sure when the leaders will understand that their failed policies will not dig Illinois out of its deep hole, but the people of Illinois deserve for them to realize it and enact more sensible policies. They deserve better from their elected representatives.”
State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) and State Representative John D. Anthony (R-Morris) are pictured listening to Governor Quinn deliver his Annual Budget Address in Springfield on March 26, 2014.