No country for income tax hikes

Normally, a tax hike would be the last thing that state legislators would consider in an election year. Tax increases usually are approved in "off years" to give voters time to forget before they vote. So, you'd think that any talk of a large income tax increase in Springfield would be the last thing being considered. But the ever-growing likelihood that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama may very well end up as the presidential nominee is giving Illinois Democrats hope that his presence at the top of the ticket will negate any voter negativity associated with just about anything they do this year. And one of the controversial items on the agenda for some of those Democrats is an income tax increase.