New income tax efforts in Springfield

TAX MOVE On Jan. 1, 2015, your state income tax is scheduled to fall from 5 percent to 3.25 percent. Many lawmakers don't want this to happen, because they know the state can't afford to lose the roughly $6 billion it will cost. But neither do they want to extend the temporary 5 percent rate that went into effect in 2011. That won't be popular with voters. The solution? Change the whole system. They call it a "fair tax," but there's too much mystery in it for our taste. The effort got new momentum with a pair of bills filed a week ago on the last day of the spring legislative session. We've got concerns and you should too. Find out why here. (For a look at how progressive tax systems work in other states, see our infographic.)

BACK TO WORK? Or just back? Gov. Pat Quinn summoned lawmakers back to SpringfieldJune 19 for a special session to deal with the pension crisis. Quinn acted after Moody's Investor Services became the second ratings agency this week to downgrade Illinois' credit rating, which already was the worst of all 50 states. Click the image to learn more.

WHY IT MATTERS So what's it mean when our state's credit rating declines? For now, it means we all pay more in interest when the state issues bonds. But a few more downgrades and Illinois could lose access to credit. That's when really bad things happen. The Chicago-based Civic Federation has been the most authoritative and objective source on the danger presented by Illinois' pension situation. Its president, Laurence Msall, explains the danger we face from the pension crisis in this interview. 

JOBS! Illinois does not need a new "jobs program." It needs to make it easier for businesses to function. That's the view of Kim Clarke Maisch, Illinois director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses. "If truth be told legislators already know what needs to be done to spur businesses to create jobs.  They must revisit the major cost drivers for business like worker’s compensation, unemployment insurance and job-killing regulations," writes Maisch. Read the whole thing.

TOP 5 In case you missed anything, here are the Top 5 most viewed items fromrebootillinois.com in the past week.

1. Campaign 2014: A scorecard for the 2014 race for governor
2. Tension mounts as Senate rejects Madigan pension bill
3. Editorial cartoon: Illinois shrinks on new Midwest business map
4. Reboot Illinois online petition: demand a solution to Illinois' pension crisis
5. Reboot Illinois editorial: They Failed. We Failed. The way toward Illinois progress on pension debt

TWEET OF THE DAY These tweets from Springfield-based Associated Press political writer John O'Connor say it all about the upcoming special legislative session:

DAILY TIP-OFF Here's a rundown of what's happening in Illinois news today. Find more in theDaily Tip-Off section of our website.

• New progressive income tax proposals emerge in Springfield (Daily Herald)
• Moody's lowers Illinois credit rating (Reuters/Chicago Tribune)
• Quinn: Legislature must do its job (ABC 7 Chicago)
• Quinn's special session may not be so special (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Quinn calls special session; Madigan not clear why (Pantagraph)
• No cell phone for Madigan? Look what he's missing (Chicago Now)
• Caterpillar CEO backs Bruce Rauner for governor (State Journal-Register)
• Bill Daley "not teasing this time" about running for governor (Chicago Sun-Times)

Have a great weekend!