Dupage Policy Journal

Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge) called out his Democratic colleagues for not having Illinois Republicans in discussions regarding the new budget for the 2023 fiscal year.

“Early on Democrats made a show of inviting Republicans to these working groups to solicit our input, (but) the input was quickly disregared and Republicans were cut out of the process altogether after those initial meetings," Durkin said at a May 12 press conference at the capitol. "Ultimately the FY23 budget was crafted behind closed doors with the governor and the House Democrats and the Senate Democrats. These backroom deals in secrecy drive fiscal chaos in this state and also breed corruption.”

An April 19 release from the Office of the Governor said the upcoming budget will have $1.8 billion in tax relief for Illinois families. The release goes on to add the budget will provide "historic funding" for education, human services, law enforcement and violence prevention.

“The budget I’m signing into law today brings real improvements to the lives of working families and sets us up for a stronger fiscal future,” Gov. Pritzker said in the release. “Investments in stronger schools, modernized airports and newly paved highways, hundreds of thousands of well-paying infrastructure jobs, and a better-funded pension system ... these are the kind of priorities we can invest in when our state is governed responsibly.”

Republicans haven't been as optimistic.

“Democrats passed a budget focused more on the upcoming election than the needs and responsibilities of the State,” Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville), assistant Republican leader, said, according to Fox Illinois. “They wrote a bill to delay their gas tax increase, conveniently until after the election. They included delayed tax increases on businesses and cuts in unemployment benefits, conveniently until after the election. These taxes will be increased; the Democrats just wanted to ensure that it didn’t happen before the election. This budget includes $1.6 billion in pork projects in Democrat-only legislative districts. These include all sorts of things like a ‘pilot program’ for a guaranteed minimum income for women in East St. Louis. This and all of the other projects amount to election-year bribes for their re-election, paid for by all Illinois taxpayers.”

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy also spoke on the budget, according to Fox Illinois, “Instead of permanent solutions for working families like real tax cuts and reduced spending, Democrats passed temporary election-year gimmicks, a massive increase in spending, and pay raises for politicians. In the face of record inflation and a crushing tax burden, Democrats gave taxpayers a handful of candy and told them to suck it up. They failed to provide real relief to taxpayers and all but guaranteed tax increases when the federal bailout money goes away.”