SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Two key Republicans in the Illinois House say they will continue supporting an income-tax increase over their governor’s veto.
Rep. David Harris of Arlington Heights and Rep. Steven Andersson of Geneva were among 15 Republicans who bucked Gov. Bruce Rauner and helped provide a veto-proof majority for a 32 percent income tax increase designed to dig Illinois out of the nation’s longest budget crisis since at least the Great Depression.
Harris is the ranking Republican on the Revenue and Finance and General Services Appropriations committees. He says it’s “immoral” for the state to carry a $15 billion bill backlog and the $800 million a year in interest it carries.
Andersson is the GOP floor leader. He says his vote for the tax increase was reinforced when bond houses delayed a promised downgrade to Illinois’ credit rating.
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