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Voters did the right thing; state must be next

Saturday, February 9, 2008 11:56 PM CST

Voice of the Southern

Hed: Voters did right thing; state must be next

The issue: A new sales tax to help pay for school construction in Williamson County likely will be copied by other counties in the state. Our opinion: While we applaud voters for supporting the measure, state lawmakers must no longer abdicate their responsibilities. We call upon our lawmakers to pass a capital works program as soon as possible.

Williamson County voters' support last week of a new 1 percent sales tax to help cover the costs of new or improved school facilities in its five public districts undoubtedly will be copied in other counties throughout the state.

And rightfully so.

The legislative quagmire in Illinois in recent years, which reached a crescendo last year, set the table for consideration of higher taxes on purchases to be used for school construction.

Stuck with no other reasonable funding alternatives, school leaders in Williamson banded together and convinced voters ? by an admittedly slim margin of 9,066 to 8,324 ? to OK the higher rate on all products excluding food and medicine.

Who set the table for higher sales taxes locally? Why, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, state Senate and House leaders, and state legislators themselves. The buck stops there.

They, and their predecessors, have been responsible for the steady decline in state funding support for public education ? from exceeding 50 percent about two decades ago to nearly just one-third now.

And that's just on the operational side. For more than five years now, state lawmakers have failed to produce a capital projects bill to help improve the quality of learning facilities for our children.

Such inaction is appalling.

As a result of their failure to help replace crumbling schools throughout the state, and in particular here in Southern Illinois, school officials suggested the County School Facility Occupation Tax Law to allow for county voter consideration of higher sales taxes for school improvements.

Lawmakers ? in what looked like recognition of their inability to work out an agreement ? thankfully passed the county tax law.

Now, in Williamson County, at least construction will begin on a sorely needed new elementary school in Creal Springs this spring. Construction also will soon start on new high schools in Carterville and Marion.

The new tax, as structured and clearly presented to voters, can only be used for school construction, including paying off debts, or for property tax reduction. Property tax relief is in line immediately for homeowners in Herrin and Carterville.

There were reasonable concerns that the higher sales tax would impact sales at stores in Marion, Herrin and other cities in the county. But we believe the increase is not significant overall; Marion, for instance, has an overall sales tax of 8.5 percent. Nearby Carbondale is 7.75 percent.

The difference is slim.

Tuesday's vote represents a fresh start for school improvements in Williamson County, but we also want the outcome to double as a stern message to state lawmakers.

Pass a capital works bill soon, and hold to your commitment to cover the costs of improvements you've already promised to the school districts that have been in line for state support.

Even though Carterville will use its share of the new sales tax revenue to get its project going, the state must still cover its share after lawmakers pass a capital bill.

Voters in Williamson County did the right thing and approved the 1 percent tax.

It's time now for state lawmakers to act.

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