Consider the tax increase as good as signed, and the death penalty bill still on hold.
Gov. Pat Quinn said today he will sign the tax bill as soon as he gets it, but he isn't committing his signature to the Senate-approved bill to abolish the death penalty.
"What's right isn't always popular and what's popular isn't always right," he said.
Early this morning Illinois lawmakers voted to raise the state income tax rate from 3 to 5 percent. The 66 percent hike in personal income tax is an effort to deal with the state's staggering budget crisis.
Mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel told reporters today that it's dissappointing there's no property tax relief.
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka said she doesn't agree with the tax increase as a measure to deal with Illinois' financial woes.
Topinka released a statement today saying, "By allowing for 2 percent annual growth in spending and avoiding any real budget reforms, this action ensures that Illinois will dig itself deeper into its fiscal hole."
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She said it will "squeeze taxpayers for even more of their dollars in order to pay for their government’s bills."
