Speaker Madigan says cigarette tax hike could have trouble passing

SPRINGFIELD --- Speaker Michael Madigantoday said he doubted the governor’s proposed $1-a-pack hike in the cigarette tax will pass the House, a prospect that could leave a $675 million budget gap in he state's health care program for the poor.

The veteran Southwest Side Democrat said he would “support an increase in the cigarette tax, especially for the Medicaid program.” But the speaker said House Republicans “to date” have opposed the higher tax on smokes, and he made a prediction: “I don’t think it’ll pass.”

Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn proposed a dollar-a-pack increase in the state’s current 98-cent per-pack cigarette tax. The governor said it was necessary to help plug a funding hole in Medicaid. Quinn also called for $1.4 billion in cuts and another $675 million in reductions in payments to providers of health care, such as hospitals and nursing homes.

The Senate has passed increases in the cigarette tax twice in recent years only to see the proposals stall in the House.