Governor JB Pritzker delivered his annual Budget/State of the State Address Wednesday to a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly.
Governor Pritzker’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Budget is a record-high $56 billion, nearly a billion dollars more than last year’s enacted budget. Pritzker’s spending plan relies on $728 million in new revenue, including new taxes on social media platforms and higher gaming taxes.
Assistant Republican Leader C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Murrayville) criticized the Governor’s spending plan as being unaffordable and unsustainable.
“On Governor Pritzker’s watch, state spending has increased by $16 billion, a 40% spending hike,” Rep. Davidsmeyer said. “He’s raised taxes and fees year after year and wants to take even more money out of the pockets of hardworking families this year. Despite spouting off talking points about affordability, the reality is Illinois families cannot afford Pritzker’s ‘Tax, Spend, Repeat’ Budget.”
Last year, Gov. Pritzker and the Democrat majority increased taxes and fees by nearly $1 billion to balance their budget. Those tax and fee increases are baked into the proposed FY27 budget. In the fall, Democrats hiked energy rates by $8 billion for a green energy giveaway and added an additional $2.5 billion in taxes and higher tolls for their Chicago mass transit bailout.
“This budget is a disaster for hardworking Illinoisans,” said Rep. Davidsmeyer. “More taxes and fees, another billion dollars in wasteful spending, including hundreds of millions of our tax dollars going to welfare benefits for illegal immigrants. There’s no relief from the high cost of living. There’s no property tax relief or tax cuts for working families anywhere to be found in this budget. We’ve got to make Illinois a more affordable place to live, work, and raise a family.”