GregBishop Web Assistant Location: Springfield , IL Last login: 06/09/11 RSS feed
A resident of central Illinois, I am a full-time student at the University of Illinois at Springfield working towards a Masters in Communication. My BA is in Communication with a minor in Political Studies
I also host Saturday Session with Bishop, a Saturday evening political theory talk show, bringing the message of liberty to most of central Illinois. The website for my talk show on WMAY out of Springfield is www.bishoponair.com. Please feel free to contact me to book guests; authors, activists, candidates, ect.
If you live in the Springfield area and would like to network for various kinds of action, please feel free to contact me; bishoponair@gmail.com
Springfield, IL - Illinois lawmakers held a hearing Tuesday morning to review Senate Bill 136, the Home School Registration Bill. If passed, the bill would require that all home schooled children register with the Illinois State Board of Education. Proponents claim it will help them better offer services to home schooled children and also keep tabs on evaluations of their education progress. Opponents claim another government bureaucracy will not help the children at all, and will only act to bog parents down with more paper work. Home school parents and representatives also believe SB 136 would take away their freedom to educate their children.
Now that the income tax increase is law, after Quinn signed it, how's about we begin the process of recalling Governor Quinn and working to repeal the income tax increase.
With the income tax bumped up to 5% and the corporate income tax increased to 9 1/2% ... our economy will be damaged greatly. Mayors are against this, Republicans are skeptical that caps will work or that the tax is temporary. Prices are increasing around every aspect of life. Tuition is up, gas is up, food is up ... Supporters claim that the state income tax increase is offset by a reduction in Social Security deductions. Uh .. so? It's still more money taken out of our paychecks for big government to waste.
This is reprehensible and must be corrected. What is the next step for the Campaign for Liberty in a state that seems to be fundamentally against liberty in almost every aspect?
Here are the goals I see that must be met and the Campaign for Liberty, with help from other like-minded groups, are the only :
Have you seen Free & Equal's new ballot access amendment? http://www.freeandequal.org/2011/01/language-for-proposed-illinois-ballot-access -bill-revealed/
Christina Tobin would be a good interview for you, Greg. Let me know if you need her contact info.
Posted by GregBishop on 01/12/11 Last updated 01/12/11
January 12, 2011
7:20 am
Well, in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday, the Illinois Senate passed the income tax increase for individuals and corporations. It now has become more expensive to live in the state of Illinois. The land of Lincoln has also became the only state in the union to boost a state income tax during this time of high unemployment and outlandish government debt.
As many of you are reading, the bill that passed will increase the personal income tax from 3% to 5%. That's a 66% increase! The corporate tax would be bumped up to 7% from 4.8%. So, not only will it be more expensive to live in the state of Illinois, it will also be more expensive to do business. Surely this will impact the already struggling economy.
Governor Quinn is planning an 11:15 news conference this morning at the Capitol building. I'll be there to cover it for WMAY and will provide video later this afternoon.
Shoring up the state's finances will have no help, however, from a proposed cigarette tax increase. That measure failed.
Early Wednesday morning, the senate did vote for a measure to borrow over $8 billion to help ease the red ink. My state senator Larry Bomke did vote for that. I will surely be calling his office before the week is out to express my deepest regrets that he voted for the measure, which passed the senate.
The question now, for the Campaign for Liberty of Illinois, is how to repeal this. Pressure must be placed on those who voted for this monstrosity. As the 96th General Assembly moves to the 97th this afternoon, the principles of liberty and limited government are in critical condition here in the state of Illinois.
I plan on staying in constant contact with my representative and senator on this issues and a host of others. Will you join me?
Governor Quinn responded to criticism from other states encouraged by the prospect of Illinois jobs leaving the state to go to Indiana or Wisconsin. Quinn believes that a few larger corporations will make up for it. The governor was also unclear as to providing any recommendations on families that will be hit hardest by an income tax increase only saying that an individual tax increase will help the state stay strong and therefore provide for a stronger economy.
The large corporate tax increase will be largely passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. This will make our businesses less competitive and our consumers even poorer.
To correct the above post, the borrowing of money to pay off the backlog of bills is only at about $4 billion ... either way, we'll be paying for that too!
Even if the votes were there for reconsideration it will never get called up for a second go round. The people of Illinois have been had again and by the same people they continue to elect to office. Democracy is dying as philosophers of old predicted because the electorate has found it possible to vote themselves 'free stuff' created by the efforts of others. Make no mistake about it.
My representative, State Rep Kevin McCarthy, came to my door during this election season. He couldn't have missed my Ron Paul 2008 bunker sticker (I don't have the heart to remove it), so he led off with his commitment to 1. Cut gov't and 2. Not raise taxes. He even suggested we have to cut unnecessary portions of K - 12 (music to my ears). Of course, based on his record and affilliations I suspected he was lying to my face. Today, despite his empty words, I confirmed he voted for this irresponsible increase in the state's individual income tax and the corporate tax. I called his offices and left messages for my "representative". It is embarassing day for this state.
Posted by GregBishop on 01/11/11 Last updated 01/11/11
January 11, 2011
4:30 pm
Here we go ...
The tax increase plan is being pushed through!
Unbeliveable ...
"According to the plan, in 2015 the rate would reduce to 4 percent, and would further lower to 3.5 percent in 2025. Quinn has been flying under the radar for much of the last week during negotiations with Speaker of the House Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago)." http://goo.gl/c2BLA
2025? Really? The people of Illinois should demand that their government be held accountable for the budget flops they got themselves into using tax payer dollars. Pensions, workers compensation, waste, fraud--all these must be fundamentally reevaluated in order to get a hold of out-of-control government!
Oh, lets not forget the price of a pack of smokes going up! A portion of the gathered revenue would fund public education. Well, logically, if smokes (a non-necessity) are more expensive and I'm getting taxed more--I'm not going to smoke (as I clench the nicotine gum in my cheek). So, If I and Illinoisans all over realizing the waste cigarettes are and stop purchasing them, the schools would lose funding. But as we all can see, cigarettes are no the only thing costing more. Gas, medicine, bread, silver ...
"How big does [Illinois] annual budget have to get before you begin to question the solvency of the government?
"How much total debt can the economy hold before you begin to question whether it can be repaid?
"How high do the price of silver and gold have to go before you realize that something is already happening?
"How many new rules and restrictions of trade and capitol and finance will have to be implemented before you finally realize you're screwed"
But, at least one of our constitutional officers, newly sworn in, understand that government must shrink. Treasurer Rutherford has declared that the office he now manages has far too many off shoots.
True to his campaign pledge, new Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford ordered six satellite offices around the state closed by the end of the month in a move that isn't expected to save much money. While each office has one full-time worker, five are being considered for other state jobs while the last is being laid off. The offices that will close are in Mount Vernon, Effingham, Rockford, Rock Island, Riverdale, and Collinsville.
http://goo.gl/9Eq0w
So, what will the end of the day bring?
4:45pm
Capitol Fax is reporting that there is a rule change on the spending caps, so there is a slight delay.
But, on an unrelated note, the House passed the abolishing of the death penalty.
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