The City of Evanston issued an advocate action alert last week urging residents to join other Illinois cities and municipalities in the uproar over Illinois Gov.Pat Quinn’s latest strategy to pull the state out of its staggering debt.
In a confidential memo to the Chicago Tribune and top legislators, Quinn proposed withholding income tax payments from Chicago and other Illinois counties and towns that receive money from the Local Government Distributive Fund, a fund established so that the state can provide financial assistance to local governments. The governor’s proposal would suspend payments to local governments until at least Dec. 31 if state lawmakers don’t approve his plan to borrow billions in order to pay Illinois’ bills, which total $4.4 billion.
This potential holdout from the state has left Evanston officials concerned about balancing the city’s own budget. Ald. Donald Wilson (4th) said he finds the holdout “completely inappropriate” and has personally left the governor a voicemail message expressing his concerns.
“It’s outrageous that they would consider [the proposal],” Wilson said. “This is money that taxpayers have put into the system. It’s not a gift. We rely on it as part of our budget.”
There is also talk from the governor of permanently reducing the payments by 10 percent, state Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) said. State legislators are in the process of coming together with a budget.
In a typical fiscal year, Evanston receives $5.5 million in income tax back from the state. For this current fiscal year, which began in March and will end next January, the city is expecting to receive a little over $4.6 million. However, the state is already about $2 million behind in these payments each year, Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said. The termination of payment altogether would have a direct impact on local services.
“We’re a big enough organization that we can handle it, but to other smaller villages it is a big hit,” Bobkiewicz said.
Still, Evanston has made approximately $13 million in budget cuts in the last two years. Bobkiewicz said the state must also learn to live within its means.
“If Illinois had been as diligent as Evanston in making cuts, we might not be in this situation,” he said.
The holdout could threaten funding for services the city provides and potentially lead to a tax hike, Wilson said. He urged residents to pay attention to the action alerts and follow up with their legislators to make sure their voices are being heard. Meanwhile, city officials are continuing to be vigilant in doing the same to avoid having to take drastic measures, Bobkiewicz said.
“We’re hearing from our residents that they don’t want higher taxes,” he said, “but we’re running out of things to cut.”
