Local Legislators Weigh In On Governor's Budget Proposal

Local legislators were unanimous in their disdain for Governor J.B. Pritzker's budget proposal delivered during his State of the State Address in Springfield Wednesday.

St. Sen. Chapin Rose of Mahomet called the measure "a bunch of malarkey". Rose said the governor plans to include more than $1 billion in total new taxes, while proposing to spend a billion dollars on non-citizens.

St. Sen. Jason Plummer of Edwardsville said, "Today, while Illinois families try to act responsibly with their finances, Governor Pritzker set another new record in state spending in his most irresponsible and unbalanced budget."

Both senators accused Pritzker of increased spending on illegal immigrants while, in Plummer's words, "underfunding programs for vulnerable children and the developmentally disabled."

St. Rep. Brad Halbrook of Shelbyville said the governor' measure "includes more giveaways than a Walmart grand opening."

St. Rep. Adam Niemerg of Dieterich said the governor, "on the one hand, wants to end the grocery tax because families are hurting, and on the other hand, he is asking taxpayers to pony up more for his lavish spending." Niemerg said, “We don’t need to create new line items in the budget. We need to bring back the Invest in Kids program that helped thousands of kids escape failing schools. We need more accountability in the limited education dollars we spend. Finally, we need to stop the indoctrination in our classrooms and focus on the building blocks kids need to succeed.”