OntheWilderSide

Illinois Green Party governor candidate Rich Whitney blasted both his Republican and Democratic opponents after Governor Pat Quinn outlined his latest proposal to increase education funding. Quinn’s suggestion is to raise the income tax with the caveat that schools would then have to lower their property tax levies in order to receive the funds.

Whitney commented:

I’m all in favor of property tax relief and Senate Bill 750 would provide it. I support that type of approach:  provide the property tax relief directly to the taxpayers from the state, don’t require school districts to cut funding for schools.

But what Quinn is proposing would basically require schools to cut funding in order to receive funding. That makes no sense. We want better funding for schools and property tax relief, not another shell game like the lottery. If we’re going to raise revenue — and we must — let’s do it the right way, fix our broken, regressive tax system, and guarantee that the funding goes where it is needed.

Bill Brady doesn’t get a pass on this either. He speaks about creating a fund for property tax relief when he hasn’t even shown how he is going to get us out of the $12+ billion budget deficit. His proposed 10 percent across-the-board cuts won’t even come close. I just hope he doesn’t force schools to cut the budget for remedial math. He could use a refresher course himself.

Rich Whitney is a 55-year-old civil rights and employment lawyer from Carbondale. As a lawyer, he has fought for working people who have lost their jobs or had their rights violated. A founder of the Illinois Green Party, he has long been politically active in support of the labor, health-care reform, environmental, civil rights, and peace movements. In 2006, he served as the Green Party’s first candidate for Governor, winning over 360,000 votes and making it possible for Illinois voters to have a third choice on the ballot statewide.

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