Following a comment Wednesday by budget director David Vaught, Gov. Pat Quinn went into damage control during a press conference in Chicago yesterday afternoon. The Democrat went so far as to threaten a veto of any income tax increase larger than the 1 percent "education surcharge" he's been fighting to pass since March. While his criticisms of Bill Brady were robust, Quinn clearly seemed like a nervous candidate caught on the defensive.

With the gubernatorial election just months away, the press coverage understandably focused on the politics of the Vaught-Quinn rift. We'd rather analyze the substance of Quinn's decision. If the governor is serious about paying off the $6 billion in backlogged state appropriations owed to providers "by the end of the year, if not sooner," this increase just won't cut it; a 1 point jump would generate less than $4 billion next year and that money won't reach the state's coffers overnight. What's worse, by increasing the tax rate without increasing protections for low-income taxpayers, he actually might make Illinois' ludicrously unfair tax system less progressive.

Of course, Quinn's tax platform is far preferable to Bill Brady's phantom budget solution. But the controversy Thursday further accentuates Illinois' bankrupt budget conversation.