Quincy Reporter

The Illinois House adjourned early this morning after the majority party approved a $53.1 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2025, which includes over $1 billion in tax increases to support increased spending.

"I voted no. This tax and spend budget forces struggling Illinois families to once again pay more of their hard-earned dollars for a variety of Democrat spending priorities including $1 billion more in support for illegal migrants, and even another pay raise for the legislators themselves…the third raise in two years!" said an opposing legislator.

Key points about the new budget include:

- The Fiscal Year 2025 budget is $2.6 billion higher than last year’s enacted budget.

- It includes pay raises for politicians and allocates $1 billion for non-citizens.

- To balance the budget, Democrats voted for $1 billion in tax hikes.

- The budget also relies on nearly $1 billion in financial maneuvers that obscure its true cost going forward.

- The budget (SB 251 FA3 – FY 25 Budget) (HB4959 SA2 – Budget Implementation) passed with only Democrat votes.

Over the past four years, state expenditures have increased by more than $13 billion under the Democrat-controlled General Assembly and Governor JB Pritzker. Annual spending has grown from just under $40 billion in 2020 to over $53 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.

"Every year, Democrats spend more than we are taking in revenues, and every year their answer is to raise your taxes to pay for it. As Yogi Berra would say, this budget is ‘déjà vu all over again’," commented another legislator.

Republicans expressed frustration at being excluded from negotiations. "Republicans have been ready to come to the negotiating table to ensure taxpayers are protected in the budget process, but again we were completely shut out of negotiations."

They emphasized their priorities: "We have prioritized tax relief, no new taxes, holding the line on spending, providing adequate education funding, tackling agency waste and mismanagement, improving ethics laws, and improving public safety. These are priorities worth fighting for our families and our communities."