Springfield, IL – State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) issued the following statement in response to Moody’s Investors Service announcement July 5 confirming that billions of dollars will remain in unpaid bills under the House budget plan even after a 32% income tax increase is enacted as part of the plan. The statement from Moody’s also indicated that the state still risks a downgrade in its credit rating to junk status unless other reforms are put in place and a true balanced budget is achieved. Rose is the Senate Republican’s appointed budget negotiator.
“It should now be crystal clear that a tax increase alone won’t solve our state’s fiscal problems. Moody’s highlights two major issues leftunresolved by Speaker Madigan’s House budget plan: it doesn’t really help pay down much of the $15 billion in unpaid bills and it doesn’t address Illinois’ mountain of pension liability. After voting ‘no’ to the House plan, I warned that this so-called budget doesn’t address thebacklog of unpaid bills and while it may be a budget for a fiscal year, it is not the earth-shaking reform necessary to put Illinois on a fiscallyresponsible trajectory to prosperity.
“Moody’s statement confirms this assessment. Bottom line, we need a real budget and the only way to get there is real reform. I know that behind closed doors that the two parties were very close to a breakthrough plan that would finally bring this mess to an end. I would urge the House to immediately reopen the discussions on the cuts and reforms necessary to get a real budget that actually begins to address the billions in unpaid bills.”
– Sen. Rose