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Illinois Senator Urges Rauner To Accept 'No Tax Hike' Budget Plan

WILL

An Illinois Republican Senator with a no-tax-hike budget plan is pushing Gov. Bruce Rauner to get on board.

State Sen. Kyle McCarter of Lebanon is one of the few legislators of either party who says Illinois can solve its budget problems without raising taxes. His proposal includes a 10 percent reduction across state government — the sort of deep cut that could alter the services Illinois provides to its citizens dramatically.

Most people Springfield — including Rauner — have talked about a combination of cuts and tax hikes as the way to get Illinois on sound financial footing.

McCarter, from Lebanon, has nothing to lose: He’s pledged to limit his time in the General Assembly and is not seeking re-election.

But he acknowledges that this sort of spending plan is difficult for many politicians to get behind. That’s why he says Rauner should lead the way by identifying specific cuts.

"This governor will have to accept part of that responsibility. That’s only fair,” McCarter said. “We have to be in this thing together."

At a recent Senate hearing, McCarter urged top Rauner aides to have the governor say whether he’ll support the plan.

“You’ve got to give us some guidance to where we know we’re going on the floor, and going to have a vote on bills, that people are not going to be so fearful of retribution, politically."

The Rauner administration credited McCarter for “putting forward a menu," but was noncommittal on the details. Rauner chief of staff Rich Goldberg told McCarter, “We may agree with some, and not others."

Brian Mackey formerly reported on state government and politics for NPR Illinois and a dozen other public radio stations across the state. Before that, he was A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.