With only hours left before new state lawmakers were to take over, Illinois\u2019s State Legislature narrowly approved early on Wednesday an increase of about 66 percent in the state\u2019s income tax rate.<\/p>\n
The vast size of the increase, the rarity of such increases here \u201d\u201d the last one came two decades ago \u201d\u201d and the hour of the vote (in the wee hours of Wednesday) all reflected the urgency and depth of this state\u2019s fiscal crisis.<\/p>\n
Even grudging supporters of the tax increase, which won no Republican support in a state capital controlled by Democrats, voiced a desperate sense of regret over the circumstances in which Illinois finds itself. State Representative Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat who voted for the increase, described her decision as an alternative \u201cbetween bad and worse.\u201d\u009d Another Democrat cautioned his colleagues: \u201cWe don\u2019t have a better choice today.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n