Published June 2, 2026 at 5:00 AM CDT
It’s an Illinois tradition unlike any other: passing the state budget in the waning hours of the legislative session.
This year’s $55.9 billion spending plan, which passed late Sunday night, is nearly flat compared to last year’s, as state lawmakers grappled with economic headwinds tied to federal policy changes and the Iran war.
Lawmakers tried and failed to pass a stadium incentive structure to keep the Chicago Bears from moving to Hammond, Indiana, but they passed several other measures, including a cellphone ban for K-12 public schools.
St. Louis Public Radio’s Brian Moline spoke with WBEZ Illinois Statehouse reporter Isabela Nieto about the just-ended legislative session.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Brian Moline: So, Isabela, let’s start with the state budget. It spends a total of $55.9 billion, and how does that compare to the budget for the current fiscal year ending June 30?
Isabela Nieto: Yeah, so it’s slightly up from the last fiscal year. I believe it’s somewhere in the decimals. The last one was, I think, around $55.1 billion.
Moline: OK, so a slight bump up from where we were last year. I understand there are some new revenue sources in this budget. Who will be paying more in Illinois taxes in the coming year?
Nieto: Yeah, so the budget imposes new taxes on digital advertising, so companies that advertise on our digital devices, on our TVs, our phones, our laptops, things like that. Social media platforms will be paying a new tax. Prediction markets, crypto and fantasy sports will also have new taxes.
Moline: Yeah, and Illinois’ gas tax is one of the highest in the Midwest. It does sound like the General Assembly is giving drivers a little bit of relief there, at least temporarily.
Nieto: Yeah, so they’ve temporarily frozen the gas tax. They’ve pushed it about six months, so originally, we were scheduled for a 1.3-cent gas tax increase that would’ve gone into effect on July 1, but now it’s been pushed to January.
And as an aside, there’s also another sales tax holiday on school supplies for a brief time in August, from the 7th to the 16th.
Moline: OK, so that gives folks a little bit of a break as they do their back-to-school shopping there in the month of August. As with most legislation in Illinois, it looks like the state budget passed along party lines, with most Democrats voting in favor. What did Republicans have to say about the spending plan?
Nieto: Obviously, they think that the state budget is too high. This is the now-highest state budget in Illinois history, and as we were watching the debates, they’re concerned that there isn’t enough property tax relief. You know, costs are only getting higher, and they’re concerned that there hasn’t been enough relief included in this state budget for property taxpayers and taxpayers in general.
Moline: Education funding is always a hot topic in the state. Let’s start with K-12 schools in Illinois. How did they fare in this budget?
Nieto: Yeah, so there’s a pretty big increase in this budget. There’s a $350 million increase for evidence-based funding. And there’s also been a re-upping of a property tax relief program. So they’ve refunded the property tax relief program left out of last year’s budget. It offers school districts the option to apply for more funding if they need it.
Moline: As far as some nonbudget items that passed this session, one thing that was a priority for Gov. JB Pritzker was some kind of cellphone ban in schools, and I see that did get passed in the last couple of days of the session. How will that work in Illinois?
Nieto: So, that legislation requires school districts to adopt policies to ensure students do not use their cellphones during class time. They kind of specify “bell-to-bell” language where students, districts have to create these policies based on their individual needs, but they need to create a policy that restricts cellphone use with some exceptions for medical reasons, or for people who use their cellphones for a communication device.
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