Illinois lawmakers pass $55B budget with new taxes, no transit or Bears stadium funding
Illinois lawmakers pass $55B budget, Gov. Pritzker says he'll sign it
Illinois lawmakers worked well into the night to pass the $55 billion budget for the next year, which Gov. JB Pritzker says he will sign.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - State lawmakers passed the budget for the next fiscal year, meeting their midnight deadline.
Leaders worked late into the evening with just minutes to spare last night to pass the $55 billion budget that now goes to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.
Partisan divide on budget
What they're saying:
The governor said in posts on X, the social media site, that he will sign it.
"I’m grateful to Speaker Welch, President Harmon, the budget teams, and all the legislators and stakeholders who collaborated to shape and pass this legislation. I look forward to signing my seventh balanced budget in a row and continuing to build a stronger Illinois," Pritzker wrote.
The budget includes just over $1 billion in new taxes and revenue changes, Capitol News Illinois reported.
Republican lawmakers in the minority blasted the Democratic majority for the increase in taxes.
"Speaker Welch said the quiet part out loud: tax and spend Democrats are thriving in Illinois…at the expense of Illinois families," said House Minority Leader Tony McCombie in a statement. "Rather than pursuing meaningful structural reforms to secure our state’s future, Democrats chose to prioritize politician pay raises, steal from the rainy-day fund, and funnel money into their own pork projects."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks on Nov. 7, 2024, at Illinois state government offices in Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
During a press conference on Sunday, Pritzker took time to reflect on how far Illinois has come.
"A decade ago Illinois was plunged into a budget impasse that caused massive disruption in the lives of families and workers," he said. "Government mismanagement caused layoffs, took away services for people with disabilities and children with autism, closed down domestic violence shelters and violence interruption programs. We saw credit downgrades that gave Illinois the worst credit rating in the nation."
"This budget was focused, start to finish, on the people of Illinois," the governor stated.
"Even with all of the challenges we know exist in the world, Illinois is on the right track," Pritzker said in a social media video.
New taxes and revenue
By the numbers:
The new taxes include:
- A 25-cent tax per wager for sports betting licensees’ first 20,000 wagers and 50 cents per wager after that
- Increase in tobacco products from 36% to 45%
- Subjecting businesses that move profits to other countries to the state’s corporate income tax
Republican lawmakers and business entities like the Illinois Chamber of Commerce were critical of the new taxes.
"This breaks the commitment to avoid new taxes and sends the wrong message to employers across the state," the Chamber said in a statement.
Lawmakers also decided to cut a controversial program to provide health insurance for more than 30,000 noncitizens between the ages of 42 and 64, which would save about $330 million. A $110 million program for seniors will remain in place.
The proposal to cut the program had come under fire from Latino lawmakers and activist groups, as well as progressive groups.
The new budget will also not add $43 million to a property tax relief program. The $307 million in mandated additional K-12 education funding was approved.
The final budget plan was passed without some key issues addressed, including added funding to prevent a fiscal cliff facing the region’s public transit agencies and funding for a new Bears stadium.
The transit funding was an especially big issue as the Regional Transit Authority faces a $770 million shortfall in 2026 and warned of possible significant service cuts as pandemic funding ran dry.
Transit officials and union groups were pushing for lawmakers to approve more funding to avoid such a cliff.
The Labor Alliance for Public Transportation said in a statement:
"Last night's failure to pass a comprehensive transportation bill to avert a fiscal cliff jeopardizes Illinois transit systems with expected cuts, massive lay-offs, and service disruptions for the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace, and Metra. As the General Assembly adjourns with neither reform or revenue, transit riders and workers alike are left concerned about the future of our communities."