Illinois Governor Quinn Proposes Tax Increase to Cut Deficit

From the New York Times:

Gov. Patrick J. Quinn on Wednesday proposed raising the state income tax rate, just one in a long list of painful measures aimed at closing a budget deficit that some now estimate at $13 billion.

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But Mr. Quinn’s proposal to raise the state’s personal income tax to 4 percent from 3 percent — a move he portrayed as a “surcharge for education” — comes at a particularly risky political moment, one that numerous governors find themselves facing in a fiscally grim year: he is seeking election in November. And tax increases rarely make for popular campaign material.

This morning's Chicago Tribune has a front-page story about the proposed tax increase, together with an editorial criticizing it. By contrast, the Chicago Sun-Times says that the tax hike is too small to meet the state's fiscal needs, but reluctantly supports it as better than nothing.