Satisfied that the state’s legislative leaders can deliver the votes, Gov. George Ryan on Tuesday said he would move ahead with his $12 billion public works program and rejected criticism that it could become a pork-laden political problem for lawmakers.
In announcing a formal funding agreement between the governor and top House and Senate lawmakers, Ryan warned that legislators who don’t vote for his proposal “may have a problem in the next election cycle because it’s going to solve a lot of problems.”
“You keep talking about my critics, and I don’t know what pork is and I don’t know who my critics are,” Ryan told reporters outside his office. “It’s a good program, and I think people are going to be chomping at the bit to participate.”
Yet as legislative leaders gave the go-ahead to move Ryan’s Illinois FIRST program through the General Assembly, it was clear that rank-and-file Republicans and Democrats are worried about the political consequences of voting for vehicle-fee increases, higher liquor taxes and use of the state’s checkbook to fund the five-year program.
Under the proposal, the state’s current $48 annual basic license-plate fee for cars and pickups would increase to $78 as soon as next year. That is a drop from the $96 fee Ryan originally proposed.
Registrations for large trucks and a host of other vehicle-related fees would increase by 25 percent, more than the 15 percent boost that Ryan had sought. And vehicle title transfer fees would jump from the current $13 to $65, an increase from the $50 charge Ryan had proposed.
Taxes on beer, some wines and hard liquor would more than double, probably late this year.
Also in the bill, Metra would be authorized to sell up to $200 million in bonds for improvements.
To offset criticism that the elderly would be unfairly hit by increased license-plate fees, the proposal would freeze the current $24 fee paid by senior citizens who are part of the state’s low-income Circuit Breaker assistance program.
For drinkers, the Ryan package would mean the state tax on a fifth of hard liquor would rise 50 cents a bottle to 90 cents. The state tax on a six-pack of beer would increase from about 4 cents to a dime. Low-alcohol and high-alcohol wines also would go up to about 15 cents a bottle.
State taxes on beer and hard liquor have not risen since 1969. The state tax on wine has remained the same since 1959.
To offset the smaller license-plate fee increase, Ryan agreed to tap the state’s checkbook surplus for $250 million, representing $50 million a year for five years.
But that concept rattled some lawmakers who do not want to see state surpluses poured into a program that would take decades to pay off.
Ryan, however, said that since the legislative leaders agreed to the proposal, “I assume that they’ve got the votes.”
Senate Republicans acknowledged privately that only 14 of the chamber’s 32-member majority backed the funding plan.
But Republican Senate President James “Pate” Philip of Wood Dale confidently said, “I will have my share of votes,” and the other leaders echoed his prediction.
A key toward gaining the votes of reluctant legislators will be just what the package offers them in terms of public works projects and when they would be constructed.
“Each legislator is, I think, waiting to ensure that if they’re going to support this . . . that their district is getting the needed construction dollars that they’re sent here to bring home,” said Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville).
One source familiar with the negotiations said each leader in the House and Senate would be given an allocation to divvy up. Ryan maintained that no such allocations had been made.
And stung by criticism that his initially suggested projects included such unconventional infrastructure items as $121 million for a music history museum on the East St. Louis riverfront, Ryan vehemently defended his program.
“We don’t know what’s in this package,” he said. “We just now agreed to the funding part. Now we will get down to the project part of it. I don’t know what’s going to be in the bill at this point.”
