Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bill Brady were stuck in limbo Wednesday instead of launching a transition or tackling one of the nation’s worst budget problems, as the Illinois governor’s race dragged on along with a handful of other contests nationwide.
An unsettled election also could slow down Quinn’s progress on the politically risky income tax increase he campaigned on to help relieve the state’s finances. He wants to increase the tax rate from 3 percent to 4 percent to generate more money for education, although lawmakers wouldn’t get behind his previous push.
Lawmakers are unlikely to tackle such a thorny issue until the winner of the governor’s race is finalized, said Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of politics at the University of Illinois-Springfield.
“They’d want to be very confident that this is part of a four-year strategy and not suddenly have to be dealing with a Gov. Brady,” Redfield said.
Redfield's comments were featured in a November 4, 2010, Associated Press article.
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