Billions of dollars in cuts are part of a possible budget for next year. So are higher taxes.
Illinois built up a deficit over the years; the current impasse has only exacerbated it. A bipartisan group of legislators chosen to craft a solution has a potential path.
Members are cagey about sharing details. It's politically sensitive.
But some confirm: it suggests bringing Illinois' 3.75 percent income tax rate up, to 4.85 percent. And it has Illinois adding a sales tax on some services that aren't taxed now.
Senator Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat, is adamant: it's not a deal.
“I think the framework is there … what's not a part of it, was not the charge, was dealing with any of the Turnaround Agenda items," she said.
She says that could be the sticking point.
The governor is dead set against higher taxes absent fundamental, pro-business changes ... changes Democrats have referred to as anti-middle class.
