Fund Illinois Government Fairly and Responsibly

Jeff Smith will be a leader in Springfield for long-overdue fiscal responsibility.
  • Representative Activities:
  • A leading activist in Evanston on municipal issues
  • Real-world knowledge of project costs and departmental costs
  • Has reviewed and negotiated contracts with government agencies
  • Has litigated taxing-authority issues
  • Experience assisting fiscally troubled organizations
  • Research and writing on Illinois budgetary issues
  • Jeff's Plan for Fair Taxes in Illinois:
  • Reduce reliance on property taxes to fund education
  • Work for a responsible, progressive state income tax
  • Stop regressive, economy-deadening sales tax hikes
  • End irresponsible deficit spending and pension raiding
"Illinois, which has a regressive tax structure, suffers from a long-term failure to take in enough revenue to pay for programs passed and approved. The state has covered this up for years by using the pension funds as a credit card, through borrowing, and by "sweeps" from the many special funds set up for dedicated purposes, into the general operating budget. This patchwork method of budgeting must end.

"Although major decisions will be have to be made by the present General Assembly long before I take office, my work and votes in Springfield will reflect the following principles:
  • All state budgets must be truly and honestly balanced; in the near-term, this means that the significant revenue increase from income tax needs to be coupled with significant spending cuts; the State needs to live within its means before further increases
  • Budgeting should reflect likely contingencies, not depend on the most optimistic assumptions
  • We must place people ahead of politics, buildings, and special interests
  • Spending cuts must target waste and inefficiency foremost; the most vulnerable in our population must not bear the brunt of difficult economic times
  • Taxation should be fair and progressive; I favor repeal of the constitutional provision requiring a flat tax and oppose increased reliance on regressive or back-door taxes such as fees and fines
  • Belt-tightening and sacrifice should be shared, not imposed disproportionately on a few; across-the-board reductions, third-party-contract reductions, and distributed cuts are preferable to further job loss
  • Pension reform is inevitable absent wholesale personnel and wage restructuring. The current system is unsustainable at present formulae and the problem goes beyond the State's significant failure-to-fund and its irresponsible use of the pension systems as a credit card. Nor is it fair to make future employees pay for the promises of the past. The State and employee unions should partner to accomplish reform, looking at pensions not in isolation but as part of overall compensation package
  • A second federal stimulus, from the state's point of view, would be welcome, perhaps even necessary, but can't be counted on given the climate in Washington
  • The legislature must not subject schools and local governments to unfunded mandates
I invite your suggestions and ideas as well."  - Jeff Smith

More Ideas on the Illinois Budget
Moving Beyond Denial on a Tax Increase
Spend As If It Were Your Own Money
Fund-Sweeping Deficits Under the Rug


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