Gov. Pat Quinn said today he’s confident the Illinois Supreme Court will uphold a law that raised liquor taxes and legalized video poker in order to pay for a statewide construction program, but warned lawmakers should be ready to return to Springfield if it is struck down.
The high court is set to rule Monday morning on the legality of the 2009 law, which is meant to raise billions of dollars to pay for school, road, sewer and other construction projects. A state appellate court in January found lawmakers didn’t properly assemble pieces of the deal, which also hiked taxes on candy and beauty products and raised various drivers fees.
“I don’t want to speculate on bad things happening, I’m an optimist so I believe we will prevail on Monday,” Quinn said at an unrelated event this morning. “But if we don’t, then we will take immediate action. We have to do that for the jobs of the people of Illinois.”
It’s the second time this summer that construction projects have been put in jeopardy. Quinn threatened to shut down building sites beginning July 1 because he said lawmakers failed to send him a bill giving him power to spend money on construction projects. Legislators returned to the Capitol and worked out a deal before that happened.
Quinn said they should be prepared to take action again if the Supreme Court strikes the law down. The governor said he would be “open minded” to raising taxes on cigarettes to pay for construction projects. But some lawmakers said they should stick to the original funding sources while finding a way to redraw the legislation so it passes legal muster.
A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan said an alternative funding plan for the construction program has not been discussed because “we are confident that the bills passed by the legislature will be upheld.”
“We’ll look to see what happens Monday, stay tuned,” said spokesman Steve Brown.