This week, the Illinois General Assembly passed Governor JB Pritzker’s bloated budget and nearly a billion dollars in new taxes to fund the migrant crisis he created. Pritzker’s budget sets a new record for government spending at just over $53 billion – an increase of nearly $13 billion, or 32%, since the Governor took office.
The alarming surge in government spending was primarily fueled by temporary emergency COVID funds and unexpectedly high state revenue. Rather than using these resources wisely, 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 top-tier healthcare. Senate Republicans have cautioned against using temporary dollars to fund permanent spending.
Instead of reducing government spending and reining in costs, the Governor is raising taxes to the tune of a billion dollars to fund the migrant crisis he created. Meanwhile, the budget shortchanges members of the developmentally disabled community, K-12 and college students, along with the taxpayers forced to foot the bill.
State Senator Sue Rezin said the Governor needs to make the people of Illinois his priority and stop treating them like a piggy bank to fund his political agenda.