Recently, Senate Republicans proposed dramatic action to revive the Illinois jobs climate, enhance economic development and generate new state revenues.

The 30-point plan would seek to immediately ease restrictions on job growth and attract businesses back to Illinois, many of which have been wary of locating in the Land of Lincoln because of the state’s recent income tax hike and other policies harmful to companies.

“During the past decade, Illinois government has been openly hostile to the Illinois business community,” said Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno. “Higher fees, higher taxes and greater regulations have driven away businesses and jobs, and put those companies that have survived at a competitive disadvantage with those in other, more pro-growth states. It’s time for the war on business to end, and for the public and private sectors to work together to revive our economy and bring back high-quality jobs.”  

• Take a look at the jobs recovery plan to transform Illinois into a "Destination Economy"
  

The jobs plan comes on the heels of a proposal advanced by Senate GOP lawmakers in March, that outlined a series of spending and revenue adjustments that would put Illinois on firm financial footing and allow the roll back of the 67% income tax increase enacted during the lame-duck legislative session in January.

"Illinois is on a path that is not only designed to make the 67% temporary income tax permanent, but which will force even larger tax increases in the future," Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno said. "There is a clear contrast here in Springfield. We believe the only long-term solution is to address spending and bring it into line with available revenues.

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State senators Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) and Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry), the Senate Republicans' top two budget experts, said a careful analysis of state spending and revenues shows that Illinois is racing toward a budget cliff that will leave the state with an annual deficit of $8 billion and a cumulative deficit of more than $22 billion within five years if lawmakers adopt the Governor's proposed budget.

"In fact, the single-year deficit of $8 billion at the end of Fiscal Year 16 is greater than the $6 billion deficit we had at the end of Fiscal Year 10," Murphy said. "These deficits threaten job growth and undermine our economy. This means that even as the Governor takes a week's pay from every family in Illinois for the next four years, he's creating a legacy of debt and deficits that will drive jobs out of Illinois."

The GOP caucus determined that $5 billion in spending and revenue changes would allow the state to roll back the full income tax increase and eliminate job-killing business tax hikes that were also enacted in the middle of the night in January.

• Want to know more about the principles guiding the plan? Follow the link.
  

"As a staunch opponent of the tax hike, I am very pleased that we were able to develop a practical, achievable plan to roll back the tax hike," Murphy said. "This is an excellent blueprint for eliminating the tax hikes and creating a stable environment that will foster job growth in Illinois. Instead of taking a paycheck away from taxpayers, we can start to give them something back."

Althoff added, "We’re not here today proposing these spending reductions because we’re happy about cutting services. Many worthy programs – programs I strongly believe in – could be cut. The fact is we have no choice. The alternative, a $22 billion deficit in five years, is simply unacceptable."

Radogno noted that after Senate Republicans outlined the grim financial future facing Illinois, neither the Governor nor his legislative allies refuted the numbers. She said that while there should be robust debate between those who want to reduce government spending and those who support permanent and higher tax hikes, there should be no debate over the numbers.

She issued an invitation to those who might oppose the Senate Republican's recommendations, saying she welcomes the chance to review other ideas for cutting spending.

"We were criticized for taking our time to work through a plan, but we wanted to make sure it was responsible, fair and reasonable. We tried to preserve core responsibilities of state government. If the Governor and the majority party have other ideas of how to bring spending into line with revenues, we're happy to sit down and discuss those options," Radogno said. "In fact, I hope they do come forward with ideas so we can work together to prevent a massive budget deficit."

Radogno said the menu of items unveiled on Thursday would total about $6.7 billion in reductions and financial improvements. At least $4 billion would be needed to bring the budget into line by the time the temporary tax hike is set to expire and $5 billion would be needed to allow an earlier stepped reduction in the tax increases.

As she did last week, Radogno emphasized that one consideration in developing the alternative plan was to set a goal of having at least 15 Republican votes (half needed for passage) on individual elements of the plan.