Health & Fitness

You want to change our tax system? Let's see your plan first; Rick Perry to Illinois: Get in the game.

We ask you to become the budget-fixer, tax and pension discussions heat up at a panel, we talk with Gov. Rick Perry, education equality and more.

A HINT, PLEASE? Get ready for the future of Illinois' income tax to be the hot topic in Illinois. With a hotly contested governor's race around the corner, the state desperate for more money and the personal income tax rate scheduled to decline from 5 to 3.75 percent in 2015, no candidate for governor can avoid discussing his/her post-2015 tax plan. Some members of the General Assembly believe the next governor should have the option of enacting a progressive income tax system, in which those with higher incomes pay higher tax rates. That'll take a constitutional amendment, which means voters will have the final say. But no one is saying what that new system might look like if the amendment passes. That's a big problem, we think. Our editorial today notes the extreme ranges of the 34 progressive tax systems now in use by other states. Will Illinois end up like Alabama ($6,000 puts you in the top tax bracket of 3 percent) or Hawaii (at $200,000 you pay 11 percent)? We need to know before we vote on this. Read our view here.

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NATIONAL PICTURE For an idea of the range of progressive tax schemes in use around the country, check out our national tax infographic. This will give you an idea why we think proponents of a progressive tax for Illinois need to be open about how that system might look before they ask voters to amend the state constitution.

Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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TOUGH LOVE, TEXAS STYLE "(T)his is not bashing Illinois. This is saying, 'Hey, if you want to compete with the big boys then come on, here’s what you’re going to have to do to compete.'" So said Texas Gov. Rick Perry to Reboot Illinois Editor Matt Dietrich on Monday. By Perry's standards, Illinois has not done much to stay competitive in the jobs/business department. The full interview is here. (Fun fact: Perry may be governor of a right-to-work state, but he's also a card-carrying union member. Read it and find out more.)

Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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THE $100 BILLION SYMPTOM Even if major pension reform becomes law in Illinois, don't expect it to fix state finances overnight. That was the message yesterday from a panel of experts at the Union League Club of Chicago who spoke to an audience of not-for-profits. We were there; our report is here

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SCHOOL EQUALITY Elgin schools Supt. Jose Torres spent two years on the national Equity and Excellence Commission studying disparities in education across the U.S. The commission recently submitted its report to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Torres discussed its findings with Reboot Illinois. Our interview with Torres is here.

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DAILY TIP-OFF The Chicago Tribune echoes our editorial of last week with its opinion today: "(Texas Gov. Rick ) Perry's stunt is another serious wake-up call for Illinois politicians and the inhospitable business climate they've created." It continues: "We are falling further behind not just Texas, but practically every other state."

Springfield's State Journal-Register reports that Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford defends Illinois as a great place to do business -- with a few caveats. “I think there is a lot to what Gov. Perry’s visit is about,” Rutherford says. “I don’t find it too inviting that another executive from another state comes here and the tone that he’s doing it.”

It's budget season in Springfield, and Chicago Magazine offers a quick primer on where the state's money comes from and what it gets spent on. Taxpayers tend to demand cuts, but they don't like those cuts to be at their kids' schools or in public safety or in any of the other areas from which cuts must come. 

Among the first op-ed pieces Reboot Illinois published was an essay from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin on helping brick-and-mortar Illinois businesses by making their out-of-state, online competitors collect sales tax from their customers. Crain's Chicago Business reports today that Durbin's Marketplace Fairness Act could get a vote in the U.S. Senate this week. "How in the world can you expect the bricks-and-mortar businesses of America to compete with Internet competition when the bricks and mortar business has to collect sales tax and the Internet competitor does not?" Durbin tells Crain's.

Last week we published an essay from the head of the Illinois State Charter School Commission lamenting that charter schools had become a political football in the fight over the closing of 54 schools in Chicago. Now a group of charter school parents has banded together to advance the same message. Charter Parents United plans a rally May 8 to demand funding equity for Chicago charter schools, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Daily Tip-Off section of our website to find links to these and other Illinois news articles.

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We're tired of Illinois government being a national laughingstock. Aren't you? Visit our website and make a difference.
What are we all about? Find out in our video!

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