The big issues will be taxes, spending and tax reform — Downstate House candidates TAX REFORM will be the largest issue facing the General Assembly next year, according to 52 per cent of all surveyed downstate House candidates. Forty-five per cent named tax reform and another group, 7 per cent, said specifically that property taxes would be the issue before the next legislature. Although the upstate House survey showed 46 per cent who believed tax relief would be the big issue, property taxes were singled out by more upstate candidates, 20 per cent. One explanation of this difference could be that downstate candidates were surveyed later and had more time to sense the growing tax relief fever among their constituents. Many legislative candidates appear to believe that the entire tax system would need to be adjusted if property taxes were to be cut responsibly. Cutting the property tax may require finding another revenue source to at least partially replace it, according to some downstate candidates. From other answers it was clear that some candidates hope to look at the fairness of each tax in the state revenue system, since they believe there is no underlying logic or philosophy to the way one tax is balanced or weighted against another. Although education is a top priority for spending, according to our legislative survey it was mentioned as a major issue by only 10 per cent in the downstate House survey, and it was rarely mentioned by upstate House candidates who were surveyed. Education was singled out as a big issue next year by only downstate incumbents, especially Democrats (20 per cent). Perhaps this indicates some dissatisfaction with the present funding formula, which is still weighted in favor of Chicago schools. Downstate Democrats displayed a new unity on this issue this spring, demanding and finally wringing out a new funding formula that gives a greater proportion of state funds to downstate schools. Yet several downstate incumbents contacted by our survey said they are still unhappy with the distribution of state school aid. Like their upstate counterparts, the downstate candidates surveyed identified restricted spending as the major issue. The overall percentages are close to upstate totals, 16 per cent downstate against 13 per cent upstate. Downstate Republican challengers, however, were especially keen on the issue of controlling spending, with one-third naming it most important, compared with 15 per cent of Republican incumbents, 17 per cent of Democratic incumbents and only 8 per cent of Democratic challengers. Apparently Republicans outside the legislature are most upset at the level of state spending and believe it will be an issue. Another Republican issue has traditionally been the business climate. Yet only 9 per cent of downstate Republicans and 2 per cent of those upstate expected business to become the biggest issue of next year's session. The responses to this question probably reflect the expectations of these candidates, rather than their hopes. Many Republicans who think business is of prime importance apparently don't really expect their Democratic colleagues to go along with them. No Democratic challengers and only 3 per cent of Democratic incumbents said business will be the big issue next year. In contrast, 9 per cent of Republican incumbents and 11 percent of Republican challengers think business concerns will be paramount. This also reflects a persistent belief that Illinois is losing many manufacturing concerns to other states, especially the sunbelt states of the South and Southwest, due to over-regulation and over-taxation combined with a lack of adequate incentives. ERA was named as the big issue only by Democratic incumbents (6 percent), and social services were not named at all. But other big issues for Democratic incumbents included highways, off-track betting and distribution of funds to state agencies.
6/October 1978/Illinois Issues
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