SPRINGFIELD – As the end of the legislative session nears, House Democrats have completed their withdrawal from bipartisan working group discussions, and intend to pass an unbalanced budget that looks to spend $4 billion more than the State is taking in. Illinois is estimated to bring in $32 billion next year, with a proposed budget from the majority party that would spend over $36 billion.
State Representative Randy Frese (R-Quincy) stated, “Illinois Democrats cannot seem to comprehend the fact that they can no longer spend our tax dollars without significant changes to the way we do business. We don’t have the money to sustain this type of overspending without significant reforms. For all the calls for transparency, and early agreements for bipartisan involvement, this budget was crafted in the back halls of the Capitol by the majority party without any input from anyone but themselves. The state cannot sufficiently run on money it does not have, and I am perturbed to say the least, about the unbalanced budgetary information I must relay to the hard-working taxpayers in my District.”
The proposed spending is 12% higher than projected revenue, and would push Illinois’ backlog of bills to over $10 billion, equaling 30% of its total revenue.