Over the past year, legislative leaders in Springfield have repeatedly delayed efforts to pass a tax reform plan to fix the state's crippling budget crisis.  First, it appeared they would take action before the end of the legislative session in May. Then they pushed it back until the November veto session (after the candidates' filing deadline). When nothing happened in the fall, lawmakers decided to hold off until after February 2 of this year, following the primary elections. That had some logic to it, as a simple majority could again approve legislation.  Meanwhile, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) continues to indicate he will only move forward on a tax hike when a significant number of Republicans agree to support it (even though he has more than enough Democrats to take action on his own).

Of course, as the primary approaches, the popular move for the GOP standard-bearers is to take pledges that they won't support a tax increase. Fortunately for those who support new revenue, plenty of journalists, editorial boards, academics, and political analysts are calling the Republicans' bluff, publicly acknowledging that the GOP's response is fiscally untenable and new revenue is required to meet the state's economic needs. In an interview for the Chicago Current, Mark J. Heyrman --  law professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the Illinois Legislature -- bluntly exclaimed that "you can’t cut $12 billion worth of services.” And on WTTW's Chicago Tonight last Friday, WBBM radio's Bob Crawford called the no-tax pledge "disingenuous" on WTTW's Chicago Tonight last Friday. Watch it:

Even more interesting is this brief clip from WFLD's Fox Chicago Sunday, in which co-host Dane Placko offered an enlightening observation from his trip to Springfield last week. Apparently, Republicans sound a whole lot different in private conversations than they do in their public statements:

PLACKO: I was just down in Springfield last week for the State of the State and everybody you talk to -- Republican, Democrat, behind the scenes -- they all say there's no way you dig yourselves out of this hole without some sort of enhanced revenues. Is it disingenuous of the Republicans -- at least five of them -- to say we will sign this no tax pledge?