Tagged: Pat Quinn

Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Luke Runyon also used in this report.

A plan to collect money from Illinois tax deadbeats produced more than expected.

Gov. Pat Quinn's office said Monday that offering delinquent taxpayers a chance to pay up without punishment brought in $314 million. It was originally expected to produce about $250 million.

Experts believe much of that overdue tax money would have been collected eventually. The amnesty program simply brought it in faster.

Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Amanda Vinicky used in this report.

According to an Illinois Supreme court stay issued today (which you can read below), the state can continue collecting higher taxes on liquor, coffee and grooming products.  But that may be only temporary.

The tax bumps have been in place since 2009.

Lawmakers intended for them, as well as proceeds from the legalization of video poker, to pay for a $31 billion infrastructure plan. 

Good morning! Here are some headlines to start your week:

• Missouri is bracing for a winter storm that could dump as much as a foot of snow on the ground before it's over. Doug Tilly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service says the brunt of the storm is going to be Tuesday into Tuesday night and much of Missouri and Illinois are going to get some part of the storm.

We would strongly suggest not planning to get out of your home for a couple days after this storm." - Doug Tilly, National Weather Service meteorologist

The weather service says roads will become snow covered and travel will be difficult to extremely dangerous on Tuesday. Forecasters say the storm has the potential to bring travel to a halt over much of Kansas and Missouri on Tuesday and Wednesday. Winds are expected to pick up on Tuesday and cause near blizzard conditions on all major highways.

• Republican attorney Ed Martin is getting into Missouri's U.S. Senate race. The St. Louis Republican announced his challenge to Democratic Sen . Claire McCaskill today on YouTube. He is the second Republican to enter the primary, and several others are still considering it. Martin narrowly lost a race last year against Democratic U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan. He previously served as chief of staff to former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt. McCaskill will be seeking a second six-year Senate term in 2012. Former Republican state Treasurer Sarah Steelman already has announced her candidacy for Senate.
• Governor Pat Quinn today will make civil unions legal in Illinois. He will sign the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act at a a ceremony in Chicago. Couples who enter into a civil union will be able to make health care decisions for their partners, be allowed hospital visitation rights and will have inheritance protections. But Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, says allowing civil unions is a step in the direction of legalizing same-sex marriages:

Our concern is the nature of marriage really isn't debatable because it is by definition a union between one man and one woman and when the state passes such a law of civil unions it creates a concern because it goes against the natural law." - Bob Gilligan, executive director, Catholic Conference of Illinois

Civil unions will be legal starting June 1. Illinois becomes the sixth state to take the step.