State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) is disappointed a Senate committee charged with examining Illinois’ multi-billion dollar deficit failed to reach specific conclusions on how to bring the state’s fiscal situation under control.

Syverson, a member of the Senate’s bipartisan Committee on Deficit Reduction, said while the committee heard testimony from experts in other states who found ways to balance their state budgets without raising taxes, Democrats on the Illinois panel refused to endorse similar reforms in the Land of Lincoln.

“Following four weeks of testimony, I am more confident than ever we can get out of our fiscal crisis if government makes necessary changes, starting with spending cuts,” Syverson said. “While it will require some tough choices, we can get it done without the punishing new tax hikes being sought by the Governor and the Democratic leaders in the General Assembly.”

Next week, Syverson and other Republicans serving on the Committee on Deficit Reduction will unveil a roadmap of how to balance the state budget without increasing the burden on Illinois taxpayers.

“For six years, my Republican colleagues and I warned about the consequences of the ‘spend-and-borrow’ policies of Rod Blagojevich and his Democratic allies,” Syverson said. “We warned state government couldn’t continue spending at the rate it was going, and we predicted a budget disaster would result. Well, that disaster is finally here, and the only way we’re going to fix it is by targeting the overspending that got us into this mess.”

State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) said the budget proposed by Gov. Pat Quinn rehashes many of the same failed policies of the Blagojevich administration – policies that led to the fiscal crisis Illinois now faces.

“For all of his criticisms of Rod Blagojevich’s fiscal and economic policies, Gov. Quinn today unveiled a budget that continues down that same path,” Syverson said. “In some ways, this budget is ‘Blagojevich on steroids’ and will make things even worse for Illinois taxpayers and families.”

Syverson said, like Blagojevich, Quinn was proposing numerous tax increases that would harm the Illinois economy by driving jobs and businesses out-of-state at a time Illinois is struggling economically. Illinois ranks 46th in the nation in job growth, and has lost 175,000 jobs in the last year alone.

“This budget contains the largest tax hike in Illinois history, dwarfing the tax increases of the Blagojevich era,” Syverson said. “Individuals and employers would see their income taxes rise 50 percent. Other tax credits aimed at keeping manufacturers in Illinois would be eliminated. None of the policies unveiled by the governor would keep businesses and jobs in Illinois, in fact the opposite would be true.”

Syverson said the governor’s proposal to raise corporate taxes to more than 7 percent, added to the corporate replacement tax, will push business taxes to 10 percent, one of the highest in the nation.

“In the governor’s plan, he proposes eliminating the manufacturing purchase credit, and the research and development credit,” Syverson said. “He is also looking to add a software tax for business, as well. I don’t know how you add new manufacturing jobs when you hit them this hard.”

Another proposal advanced by Quinn that is reminiscent of the Blagojevich era, Syverson says, is a plan to raid $3.2 billion from the pension system – the largest shorting of pension funds in state history. The previous record was held by former Gov. Blagojevich, who shorted the state pension systems by $2.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2006-2007. Quinn also supports various changes to the pension system aimed at saving tax dollars over the long-term.

“While I applaud the governor’s move to reform pensions, and the proposed plan is a step in the right direction, the reforms are not passed yet,” Syverson said. “In addition, all major pension watchdog groups, including the Civic Federation, the Center for Tax and Budget, and the Taxpayers Federation, say no savings will be realized for 15 to 20 years so it would be irresponsible to sweep any projected future savings now.”

The Rockford senator also expressed concern the budget plan leaves untouched the major new spending initiatives of the Blagojevich era, which contributed to the state’s current fiscal shortfall.

“Medicaid is swallowing up a larger and larger portion of the state’s budget, but the governor’s plan does nothing to address this,” Syverson said. “Gov. Quinn left Rod Blagojevich’s Medicaid programs untouched – programs that increased new spending by billions of dollars at a time we simply couldn’t afford them.”

Syverson also cast doubt on the governor’s claims the budget deficit stands at $11 billion, which many budget experts feel is an inflated number to justify the tax hikes contained in the Quinn budget blueprint.

“We have yet to see documentation on how the governor came up with that number,” Syverson said. “To get to an $11 billion deficit figure, you have to look at the fiscal crisis over a two year period, and not take into account any federal stimulus help. There’s no question we’re facing a massive fiscal shortfall in Illinois, but it’s not as bad as the governor claims.

“But even if we use the $11 billion figure, we will have $9 billion coming from the federal stimulus help, which leaves a $2 billion budget hole. When you figure in the $3.2 billion in pension raids, that totally eliminates the deficit without any tax hikes. I sincerely believe the deficit can be addressed without tax increases – if the state has the courage to make serious cuts to the Blagojevich-backed programs that led to our current shortfall.”

Stark differences are emerging among members of a bipartisan panel charged with tackling Illinois’ growing budget deficit, says State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford).

Syverson serves on the Senate’s Committee on Deficit Reduction, which has begun proceedings to come up with recommendations on balancing the state’s budget. The senator noted that, for the most part, Republicans called in witnesses who took a broader macro approach urging government reform and spending cuts, while Democrats called on witnesses who uniformly supported massive tax hikes as the only alternative.

“It’s good that we’re getting feedback from a wide variety of opinions,” Syverson said. “However, it’s pretty clear that the two parties are coming at this problem from two different angles. The Republican members of the committee strongly believe Illinois has a spending problem, and that we must do more to reduce government growth and curb spending. The Democrats seem to believe we have a revenue problem, and are much more receptive to raising income and sales taxes to pay down the deficit.”

Syverson noted that witnesses called by Democrats supported numerous tax hikes, including a 66 percent increase in income taxes, and expanding the state’s sales tax to include taxes on services and higher gas taxes.

“The goal of this committee was suppose to involve looking at every line in the state budget to see how government could be more efficient and cost-effective. I am very concerned slapping consumers with such drastic tax hikes will have a devastating effect on our struggling families,” Syverson said. “If anyone should tighten their belts and rein in their spending, it’s the Governor and state lawmakers. Overspending is what got Illinois into its current fiscal crisis, and cutting spending is what will get us out of it.”

The committee is expected to unveil its recommendations following Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address next week.