Following the House passage of the FY24 budget agreement, Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement:
“My thanks to Speaker Welch, Leader Jehan Gordon-Booth, and all the members of the House who voted today to advance our fifth balanced budget. This budget reaffirms our shared commitment to fiscal responsibility while making transformative investments in the children and families of Illinois that will be felt for years to come. I look forward to signing this budget making childcare and education more accessible, healthcare more affordable, and our state’s business and economic position even stronger.”
71st District State Representative Dan Swanson (R-Alpha) voted No early Saturday morning on an unbalanced, $50 billion state budget which increased state spending even though revenue declined.
“This budget relies on gimmicks to appear balanced, but every year we find out that the devil is in the details,” Swanson said. “It raids funds that are intended for local governments. It spends $550 million on health care for undocumented immigrants, even though the program is estimated to cost twice that amount. And it underfunds hospitals and the caregivers for the developmental disabled.”
The budget also includes a pay raise for politicians, the second one approved in less than six months.
Republicans were shut out of the budget process until the 3425-page document was revealed late on Thursday night. Every Republican voted No, but the budget passed and is now on its way to the Governor.
Deputy Republican Leader Norine Hammond (R-Macomb), the chief budgeteer for the House Republican Caucus, issued the following statement upon passage of the Fiscal Year 2024 Illinois State Budget:
“Once again, Illinois Democrats have crafted a partisan budget behind closed doors, passed after midnight at the beginning of Memorial Day weekend. This budget spends a near-record $50.6 billion on a slew of progressive causes, including health benefits for undocumented immigrants, taxpayer-funded abortion, soft-on-crime, anti-police laws, and pay raises for politicians. This budget does not reflect our shared priorities.
“Despite their statements to the contrary, the budget passed by the majority Democrats is not balanced. It relies on a series of fiscal fabrications and schemes, such as only funding half-a-year’s-worth of Medicaid costs and shifting $700 million from local government funds into the State’s General Revenue Fund.
“The Democrats continue to overtax, overspend and under-deliver for hardworking Illinoisans. This is not Republican money. This is not Democratic money. This money belongs to the taxpayers of Illinois and they deserve better.”
