Puneet Varma (Editor)

Responsible Budget Coalition

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The Responsible Budget Coalition (RBC) is an Illinois-based progressive issue advocacy group comprising over 250 organizations. The group advocates for the funding of state government programs for children, families, and community-based programs.

Contents

According to RBC’s website, it operates under three main principles:

  • “Adequate revenue to support state priorities and make smart investments”
  • “No more cuts to vital programs and services”
  • “Fairness in raising revenue”
  • Members

    RBC’s members lobby and advocate for funding for government programs for:

  • Children
  • Education groups (early learning, K-12 and higher education)
  • Faith-based and civic organizations
  • Families
  • Immigrants
  • Labor unions
  • People with disabilities
  • Refugees
  • Senior citizens
  • Veterans
  • Taxes

    RBC supports tax increases to fund social programs for children, families, and communities.

    RBC’s advocates the following changes to Illinois personal and corporate income taxes:

  • Increase personal income taxes that were lowered in 2014 to their pre-2014 levels
  • Increase corporate income taxes that were lowered in 2014 to their pre-2014 levels
  • Expand sales tax by taxing services
  • Tax people’s retirement income
  • In April 2010, the Responsible Budget Coalition organized a protest of 15,000 people at the Illinois state capitol. As part of the protest, RBC’s group of people yelled “Raise my taxes!” The Chicago Tribune described the protest as “a neat public relations trick to get front page coverage, but slightly deceptive since they should have been shouting "raise your taxes, too."”

    The RBC criticizes the Illinois state legislature’s 2015 tax cut. The RBC website says, “In January 2015, leaders in Springfield let corporate and individual tax rates drop, draining $6 billion from the state budget that pays for K-12 and higher education, human services, environmental protection, and many other critical services. Those tax breaks are primarily going to upper- income individuals and corporations.”

    The leaders in Springfield are Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, Democratic Senate Leader John Cullerton, and Republican Governor Bruce Rauner.

    State budget

    The RBC proposes a number of revenue increases and explains what it believes the revenue increases should be used for. For example, on its website, RBC writes, “close corporate loopholes instead of pricing families out of college and cutting services for sexual assault survivors” and “restore 2014 corporate income tax rates so families can afford childcare and children have afterschool opportunities.”

    Activities

    RBC organizes events for its members to protest at the state capitol. For example, in 2009, it held an event that it called the “Budget Coalition Lobby Day.” According to Citizens Action Illinois, “On October 15, hundreds of members of the Responsible Budget Coalition gathered at the state capital [sic] in Springfield to rally and lobby for a responsible budget.”

    References

    Responsible Budget Coalition Wikipedia