SPRINGFIELD - Among Gov. Pat Quinn's budget plans that were put on hold this year was one to grant Illinois residents relief from sales taxes on back-to-school purchases.

Quinn wanted a 10-day "sales tax holiday" in August that would have suspended the 5 percent Illinois sales taxes on most school supplies, as well as clothing and shoes up to $100 per item.

He argued taxpayers in a struggling economy could use the break.

But in the end, lawmakers didn't agree. And Quinn spokesman Bob Reed said plans to try for the tax holiday again aren't on the horizon.

Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, said he thought it could work - if the state weren't fighting such a large deficit.

That's probably why, Boland said, the plan didn't get much thought from lawmakers, even after Quinn proposed it.

"I didn't hear any discussion about it," he said. "Nobody even brought it up."

Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, said he liked the idea, anyway.

"For people who've got a large family, that could add up to a lot," he said.

The sales tax holiday may have been lost in discussions over how to deal with the state's $11.6 billion deficit.

The next time a period of back-to-school tax breaks might come up is next year, when Quinn and lawmakers begin another round of budget negotiations.