While the Civic Federation's latest budget proposal is far from perfect, Larry Msall made clear on WTTW's Chicago Tonight yesterday that they will be an aggressive voice in favor of raising the income tax rate in Illinois this year.  And we certainly need more of those.  During last night's appearance, Msall took the wind out of Illinois Republicans' dishonest argument that the state can magically cut and borrow its way out of a $12.8 billion hole, noting that an "all-cuts budget" would involve "tak[ing] 80 percent of the operating budget of Illinois and eliminate it."

"We're calling on members of the General Assembly and the governor to understand how close the state is to bankruptcy," Msall said, "and not to push it into bankruptcy." He added a call to action: "More citizens need to contact their legislators and more citizens need to understand just how much of a bad situation is developing." Go watch the full segment.