SE Illinois News

This week, the Illinois General Assembly passed Governor JB Pritzker’s budget and nearly a billion dollars in new taxes to address the migrant crisis. The budget sets a new record for government spending at just over $53 billion, marking an increase of nearly $13 billion, or 32%, since Pritzker took office.

The surge in government spending was primarily fueled by temporary emergency COVID funds and unexpectedly high state revenue. Rather than using these resources conservatively, Pritzker and his legislative allies created new programs and increased permanent government spending. This includes an annual expenditure of approximately a billion dollars on programs for non-citizens, including healthcare services. Senate Republicans have expressed concerns about using temporary funds to support permanent expenditures.

Instead of reducing government spending and controlling costs, the Governor is raising taxes by nearly a billion dollars to fund the migrant crisis. Critics argue that this approach neglects members of the developmentally disabled community, K-12 and college students, as well as taxpayers who bear the financial burden.

Senator Fowler stated that "the Governor needs to make the people of Illinois his priority and stop treating them like a piggy bank to fund his political agenda."