Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Luke Runyon used in this report.
Illinois State Republican lawmakers continue to push for a rollback of the recently passed income tax increase, but still haven't given their list of cuts to make up the difference. Senate Democrats are calling their bluff.
Republican Senator Matt Murphy of Palatine says the tax increase passed because Democrats don't care about growing jobs. Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, says creating jobs is every lawmaker's priority. Murphy's not buying it.
"I don't think that's accurate, Mr. President. Because if it were, we wouldn't have passed the tax increase that prioritized funding state government above job creation," Murphy said.
Republicans promised last week to lay out their rescue plan for the state's budget, including billions in cuts. Cullerton says Democrats are contemplating huge reductions to state programs to pair with the tax hike. He says if the revenue coming in from the tax increase vanishes, even more cuts will be needed.
