Dupage Policy Journal

Illinois state Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) is seething that Republican lawmakers never got the chance to be heard before Democrats rammed through a new state budget she pegs as being at least $6 billion underfunded.

“House Republicans pushed for a responsible, balanced budget that included a pay reduction for lawmakers,” Grant said. “What we got instead was a wildly out-of-balance budget that actually increases spending by $2 billion at a time when state tax revenues have plummeted. Democrats shut Republicans out of final budget discussions and made sure the budget that came to the floor included a nice pay raise for themselves.”

The new $42 billion state budget passed by both chambers of the General Assembly during an emergency pandemic session heavily counts on federal funding to plug holes made deeper by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, lawmakers also approved a proposal that allows for the borrowing of up to $5 billion from the federal government, which legislators hope will eventually be repaid with funds allocated from Washington.

As reckless as all the additional spending and borrowing strikes her as being, Grant fumes neither of them may be the biggest affront of all.

“Including a pay raise for legislators is a slap in the face to every Illinoisan who has suffered financial loss during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said of the $1,800 lawmakers carved out for themselves as part of the package Gov. J.B. Pritzker is almost certain to sign into law. “At a time when people have lost their jobs, had their hours reduced, or been forced to take furlough days or weeks, lawmakers have no business giving themselves raises. House Republicans filed a bill to reduce pay to 2019 levels and they rejected it and buried the bill in the Rules Committee. What Democrats did today was shameful.”