SPRINGFIELD, Illinois… State Representative Brandun Schweizer (R-Danville) issued the following reaction to Governor JB Pritzker’s annual State of the State and Budget Address delivered to a joint session of both the Illinois House and Senate. Governor Pritzker’s address laid the framework for his budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, FY 2025, beginning on July 1, 2024.
“The Budget Address marks the beginning of negotiations for the budget, which is the biggest item taken up by the legislature. I am skeptical of the priorities that were expressed by Governor Pritzker today. The Governor did not mention how much has been spent on the migrant crisis taking place in Chicago but did propose another $5 million to housing the migrants. He did not mention the deficit this spending has caused, or what services have suffered due to this expanded spending totaling $2.8 billion. He proposed zero tax relief for items like property taxes, even though Illinois ranks second in the nation for property tax costs but has lost population compared to other states. Prioritizing spending on an already over-funded operations is wrong, especially when there are services cut due to lack of funds.”
Rep. Schweizer says that while proposing services like a diaper pilot program and eliminating the grocery tax are both great relief options, he wonders how long Illinoisans can count on those projects being funded.
“It is astonishing that utility costs, business start-up costs, taxes, and pension debt were not mentioned in the address when the effects of inflation are still rampant. I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle see that there is a lot happening in Illinois that warrant portions of the budget. I am a team player and want to see the budget planning to fruition, but I am uncertain if we will all agree to roll back on unnecessary spending,” concluded Rep. Schweizer.
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