SPRINGFIELD – State Representatives and Senators from Southern Illinois offered their own reactions to Gov. JB Pritzker’s combined Budget and State of the State Address delivered in Springfield Wednesday.
State Rep. Dave Severin says he is disappointed in the priorities outlined in Governor JB Pritzker’s annual Budget and State of the State Address delivered to a joint session of the Illinois legislature. Gov. Pritzker proposed spending additional hundreds of millions of dollars for the housing and health care of illegal immigrants being housed in the Sanctuary City of Chicago.
“Illinoisans are struggling under the weight of high taxes and the high cost of living,” Severin said. “Prioritizing spending billions of dollars on illegal immigrants that are here because of our state’s sanctuary state and sanctuary city policies is wrong. Between last year, this year, and the proposal for the coming year, Illinois taxpayers will foot the bill for $2 billion in spending on illegal immigrants. Our citizens are not able to afford any more of this.”
Severin says reforms to the budgeting process must take place to restore the public’s faith and trust in Illinois government.
“In recent years, supermajority Democrats have unfortunately gone behind closed doors, negotiated budgets in secret, and dropped spending plans on lawmakers on the last day of the Session,” Severin said. “This has meant hardly anyone has been able to read and understand hundreds of pages containing billions in spending. It’s a shame, and our citizens deserve better than what they’ve gotten from Democrats so far.”
“Inflation and the cost of living is too high, energy prices are too high, and taxes are too high,” Severin said. “Our working families and individuals are paying the second-highest property taxes in the country. Our businesses are paying the 3rd highest corporate taxes in the country. People can’t afford any more. We must cut spending, provide permanent tax relief for citizens and business, and prioritize the care of Illinois citizens over illegal immigrants. I will continue to call for these changes as budget negotiations continue throughout the remainder of the legislative Session.”
State Representative Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) issued the following reaction to Governor JB Pritzker’s annual combined Budget and State of the State Address delivered to a joint Session of the Illinois House and Senate.
“The Budget Address marks the beginning of negotiations for the budget, which is generally the biggest item taken up by the legislature. I have to say I am deeply concerned with the priorities that were expressed by Governor Pritzker today. The Governor wants to spend hundreds of millions more on illegal immigrants in the Sanctuary City of Chicago. His budget offers a lack of real tax relief for items like gas, groceries, medicine, and school supplies even though Illinoisans pay some of the highest combined taxes in the country. Prioritizing spending on failed policies that have brought thousands of people to our country and state illegally over the care of our citizens who are dealing with record inflation and confiscatory tax policies is wrong.
“I would urge my Democrat colleagues in the legislature to change their ways. Abandon the past practices of cutting out Republicans from negotiations. Bring the budget into the light so the public can know what’s in it. No more budgets dropped at the last minute on the last day of the Session! We have a real opportunity to provide tax relief to our citizens, shore up our finances, and make responsible choices that will help secure a brighter financial future for our state and our citizens.”
After listening to Governor JB Pritzker deliver his 6th annual Budget and State of the State Address, House Republican Floor Leader State Representative Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) says he is looking forward to the legislature engaging in good-faith negotiations to settle on a spending plan for FY 2025.
The combined Budget and State of the State Address revealed Gov. Pritzker’s plan to spend $52.7 billion, which is a $2.29 billion increase compared to the FY24 enacted budget – a 4.5% increase. Gov. Pritzker proposed increasing spending for the ongoing migrant housing and health care crisis in Chicago. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget has projected that the State of Illinois may face a budget deficit of $775 million if spending cuts are not made.
Windhorst says the Budget Address marks the start of the process, not the end.
“The Budget Address is often considered the real ‘start’ of the Legislative Session. We know now what the Governor is thinking, where his priorities are, and we are learning how our colleagues are reacting to those priorities,” Windhorst said. “In recent years, the legislature has been controlled by supermajorities of Democrats who have unfortunately gone behind closed doors, negotiated budgets in secret, and dropped spending plans on lawmakers at the 11th hour with very little time for anyone to be able to read and understand hundreds of pages containing billions in spending. I sincerely hope this year will be different, but we will have to see as the Session unfolds if that is the case.”
Governor Pritzker spent a significant portion of his speech discussing the ongoing migrant housing and health care crisis that has cost the state of Illinois billions of dollars since President Biden ended Trump-era immigration policies. With no end in sight to the influx of immigrants coming from all over the world, Windhorst cautioned that Illinois taxpayers are tapped out, and can no longer be expected to cover the high cost of failed sanctuary state policies.
“I’m not in agreement with the Governor’s plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on housing undocumented immigrants and paying for them to have top-of-the-line health care coverage,” Windhorst said. “Illinois taxpayers have been on the hook for billions of dollars in spending to cover the soaring costs of the Sanctuary City of Chicago’s failure to properly address this crisis. I disagree that more tax dollars should be spent in the coming fiscal year on this failed experiment. We must repeal sanctuary city and sanctuary state policies, and President Biden must take action to close and secure the southern border. That’s the only real way we will stem the tide and end this crisis.”
Windhorst says one major piece missing from Pritzker’s spending plan is permanent tax relief for working families struggling under the weight of 40-year high inflation and high taxes.
“Inflation has come down from record highs, but it is still too high. Energy prices are too high. Taxes are too high. Our working families and individuals are paying the second-highest property taxes in the country. Our businesses are paying the 3rd highest corporate taxes in the country. People are tapped out,” Windhorst said. “I favor a budget that trims spending, provides permanent tax relief on groceries, medicine, gas, and school supplies, and prioritizes the care of Illinois citizens over spending billions on undocumented immigrants. I will continue to call for these changes as budget negotiations continue throughout the remainder of the legislative Session.”
State Senator Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) released the below statement following the Governor’s State of the State and State Budget Address.
“Illinois residents can’t afford another tax increase to help offset the costs of the migrant crisis in our state,” said Senator Fowler. “We must look at ways to prioritize our citizens and make sure resources aren’t diminished because of self-imposed budget restraints.”
State Senator Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) released the following statement in response to the Governor’s Budget and State of the State Address:
“Once again, the Governor has shown that he will continue to prioritize his radical non-citizen welfare agenda over the needs of Illinois families. He’s spent two billion dollars of taxpayer money on programs for non-citizens over the last two years, money that should have been spent on lowering costs for Illinoisans and aiding our state’s most vulnerable citizens.
“To add insult to injury, he now wants to use Illinoisans as the piggy bank for this non-citizen spending by raising taxes by more than a billion dollars. It is utterly outrageous for the Governor to demand the people of our state fund this migrant crisis he actively sought to create. It is time for lawmakers to prioritize Illinois families and urge Governor Pritzker to end his non-citizen welfare agenda.”
Below are audio and video links from our local state representatives and senators regarding Gov. Pritzker’s State of the State and Budget Address.
State Representative Dave Severin (R-Benton)
State Representative Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis)
State Representative Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona)
State Senator Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro)
State Senator Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg)
