Illinois budget allows residents breaks on gas and groceries
CHICAGO - Most Illinoisans will get a check from the state, as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s balanced budget.
There will be breaks at the gas pump and at the grocery store but they won't last forever.
Gustavo Sandoval is a lifelong Chicagoan who works overnights in the hotel industry and took on extra work to provide for his wife and children. With multiple jobs and school aged children, he said he drives a lot.
"If state legislators try to figure out something and take care of gas costs and inflation, that would be awesome. That would help out a lot of middle-class Americans," Sandoval said.
Under the proposed Illinois budget, Sandoval would get direct checks, up to $100 for each child, a property tax rebate of up to $300.
Illinois lawmakers, Pritzker announce state spending plan; $1.8B tax-break deal reached
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and leaders of the Illinois House and Senate on Thursday announced agreement on a state spending plan that aims to fight nagging, near-record inflation by giving $1.8 billion back to taxpayers.
Pritzker said Democratic legislators want to provide something to combat the inflation taxpayers endure everywhere.
The 1 percent grocery tax would be suspended for a year.
A scheduled increase in the motor fuel tax would not be added for now.
But Sandoval said he has been working constantly, using apps to cut costs and doesn’t know how long he can hang on,
"Statewise, the cost of living is too much here. I have family in Texas. I don’t want to move there. But my wife and I, we are having those conversations. I’m starting to think about it," Sandoval said.
Many Illinoisans already made that difficult decision, to move to a better economic climate.
In Pritzker’s budget, the total tax relief for the next fiscal year would be 1.8 dollars.