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Last updated 10:37 pm CT February 08, 2010.
Fact Check: Hynes and Quinn Air Dueling Ads
Still, the rivals for the Democratic nomination for governor are running a dueling set of campaign ads slamming each other’s policy.
“What they’re really arguing about is how and where to get that done and they’re both trying to say, ‘I won’t hurt most folks with my income tax increase,’” said political analyst John Jackson of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
Hynes claims his tax increase will only affect three percent of Illinois taxpayers.
"We can balance the budget by cutting waste line-by-line and only raising income taxes on people that make more than $200,000," he says in the ad that’s running in markets all over the state.
Here's what the comptroller is leaving out: "Hynes' plan would not get any money as best I can see until 2011, 2012 and only after we pass a constitutional amendment," Jackson said.
He points out that with a multi-billion dollar deficit, Illinois needs the money much sooner than that.
There’s also no guarantee that the General Assembly will call for an amendment.
If Governor Pat Quinn's plan passes in 2010, money would start flowing a bit sooner. Last Spring he called for a 50 percent income tax increase on business and individuals.
His campaign began running an ad over the weekend that claims, "Governor Quinn proposed tax cuts for families earning less than sixty thousand a year."
Here’s what the governor’s leaving out: by the end of the 2009 Legislative Session not only had he failed to pass the tax increase he claimed was vital, he had abandoned tax credits for the families he's talking about in his ads.
"By the time it was over, he was desperately saying, 'Well, just give me the change from [a three percent tax to a four-and-a-half percent tax on individuals]," Jackson said.
Hynes and Quinn promise to protect the middle class, but there's something they're both leaving out.
"I would suggest that that's disingenuous because if we get to a $12 billion deficit, almost everybody is going to have to give something up and pay more taxes," Jackson said.
Don't expect either candidate to admit that in a campaign ad.
By Dana Jay
djay@wsiltv.com
Now: 1265690465
