SE Illinois News

Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) sees Gov. J.B. Pritzker's proposed budget as abandonment of working families.

“I think it's very obvious that Pritzker, the Democrat Party, and the political elites have abandoned the working families of Illinois,” Bailey said in a video posted to Facebook. “It's interesting because I think now he's having a tough time with his re-election, so he's offering an empty box of chocolates right before Valentine's Day and he's calling it tax relief. Well, maybe for a trust fund billionaire like JB temporarily not raising taxes sounds like tax relief, but for the working families across Illinois who are struggling to pay bills, keeping gas in their cars, deciding not to take an extra couple of pennies from them, I think, is a slap in the face.”

Bailey said that there is “serious reform” needed in Springfield, and not reform that is reliant on federal bailouts. He said there is a need to benefit the working families and taxpayers of Illinois in the long-term, rather than relying on temporary measures during an election year.

Bailey was not the only Republican to speak out. According to Patch, Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) was also critical of Pritzker's reliance on federal money, and said that pandemic relief funds are being used to “kind of patch the budget,” instead of tackling reforms necessary to help the state.

Pritzker's proposed state budget for fiscal year 2023, unveiled last week, totals $112.5 billion, out of which $45.5 billion would be funded by state tax revenues, with the rest coming from federal funds.

Public employee pensions represent a significant portion of spending, with Pritzker proposing $500 million in additional contributions to the fund, on top of the required contribution of $9.6 billion. 

The budget also includes what the Pritzker administration is dubbing the Illinois Family Relief Plan, which aims to provide up to $1 billion in tax relief. This includes temporary freezes on increases to the gas tax, totaling $135 million, and the grocery tax, which would total $360 million. Pritzker is also proposing up to $300 in property tax rebates, to a total of $475 million. Another highlighted area is a spending increase of $350 million toward education.