By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Illinois taxpayers are waking up Halloween morning to tax increases after the conclusion of fall veto session at the Illinois Statehouse.

The final package to reform Illinois mass transit oversight and generate more taxpayer revenue for operations came together in the early morning hours of Friday. For months, legislators have heard about a fiscal cliff that at one point eclipsed $700 million, but was later revised down to around $250 million.

To address the shortfall and future funding, Senate Bill 2111 was modified to drop a slew of tax increase proposals like an amusement tax, a large event tax and a so-called billionaires tax. The updated measure revealed Thursday evening allows for the Regional Transit Authority to increase sales taxes.

“This authorizes the Regional Transportation Authority, the RTA, to adjust the RTA sales tax by an additional quarter of a percent in Cook County and the collar counties,” said bill sponsor state Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, D-Chicago.

Supporters of the legislation said it’s time to “fix it and fund it.”

Sean Stott with the Laborers’ International Union – Midwest Region, told a House committee they oppose the measure for dipping into the road fund.

“We are taking away 600 and what would be $890 million that would otherwise go into the road fund, $600 plus million, which today is part of the very reason we have such a robust road fund balance,” Stott said.

The legislation passed the House at about 2 a.m. Friday.

Decoupling Illinois’ tax code from the federal tax code also passed the Illinois General Assembly in the early morning hours on Halloween.

During House debate late Thursday evening, state Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, said decoupling Illinois from the federal tax code equals a tax increase for Illinois businesses.

“We’re putting our businesses at a competitive disadvantage again, by decoupling, while every other state that is still coupled to the federal tax law is going to see a savings for their business because the federal taxes have been lowered with us raising them again, which is essentially a tax increase,” Ugaste said.

Earlier in the day, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said decoupling ensures the state can raise enough taxpayer revenue to continue spending on government programs.

“Those are all things that are very attractive to business and very attractive to families,” Pritzker said. “And so we’re proud of the fact that we will maintain as best we can the very high quality services that we provide for working families.”

State government spending has increased $16 billion, or 43%, since Pritzker took office in 2019.

The decoupling bill was approved by the Illinois Senate at 2 a.m. Friday.

State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said veto session was bad for taxpayers.

“This has been one hell of a veto session,” Spain said. “It’s been an expensive couple days for taxpayers here with initiatives to increase insurance rates, energy prices, and now a massive sales tax increase throughout the RTA, including an increase on groceries for communities that did not reinstate their own grocery tax after we eliminated it.”

Spain argued against the mass transit bill.

“One billion dollar tax increase for the tollway, and a betrayal of trust for people that wanted to work together in a bipartisan way, to do something good for investing in infrastructure is a terrible day, week, experience in this General Assembly,” Spain said. “I can’t express enough my disappointment in the way that this has been handled, the way this body conducts itself, the way this chamber is operated. Something’s got to give.”