ILLINOIS- There’s some controversy in the Illinois legislature as lawmakers approved the state’s new budget in a 4 a.m. decision Monday morning.
After hours of discussion, lawmakers passed a new, record-setting $55.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2027. If signed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker as expected, it would not only enact a bump in pay for lawmakers, but would also give a $2.4 billion boost to the state comptroller’s rainy day fund, in a bid to better help Illinois businesses stay afloat when facing potential financial ruin.
“We need to take it much higher, probably closer to 6 billion before we can rest easy think that god forbid, another economic collapse through no fault of our own that if that were to happen we would be able to tap into the rainy day fund to make sure that the vendor provider community in Illinois would not feel that they’re going to have to go out of business,” said Democrat Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
Another big change: an increase to the state’s already notoriously high motor fuel tax.
Drivers can expect it to go up another 1.3 cents a gallon starting seven months from now. The delayed hike was a point of pride for supporters, who say waiting to implement the hike six months after the budget takes effect will save drivers $37.5 million.
But opponents beg the question, who will be paying for the spike in the budget?
“I voted no because it, it’s increased spending far too much. In the last eight years of this Governor Pritzker administration, we’ve seen the budget increase to a figure above $56 million, which is a 40% increase when he took over. Just imagine, that is a 40% increase, which many, Illinoisans question, what does that mean to their lives? They’re paying more in real estate taxes,” said republican state senator Jil Tracy
Governor Pritzker has been a vocal supporter of this budget package and he is expected to sign off on it to take effect by July 1, 2026.
Leave a Reply