Illinois Governor Proposes Tax Hikes for Education

Illinois Democratic Governor Pat Quinn has proposed a 33% increase to the state personal income tax rate and a 21% increase to the state corporate income tax rate. The new tax, billed as a "surcharge", would be used for education.

"In his short budget speech to the House and Senate, Quinn argued that an income tax "surcharge" would be enough to restore Illinois' education budget to current levels and allow the state to get caught up on some of the millions owed to public schools, community colleges and four-year universities."

The state of Illinois already spends entirely too much on "education". Or rather, the state spends entirely too much money at the periphery of education: administrators and bureaucrats, bloated union contracts, pensions, and so forth.

Governor Quinn is in complete and total denial in believing that voters will back him on this proposal.

"I believe this 1 percent for education makes sense, and I think the people of Illinois will understand. We must invest in the future, even in these tough economic times," Quinn said. This is urgent. We don't have six months. We don't have six weeks. I challenge the General Assembly to take immediate action to enact the 1 percent for education initiative."

The statewide election results in November will reveal whether taxpayers in Illinois believe the Governor was right to spend even more tax money on the education-industrial complex. I think he's in for a rude awakening.