Politics
Illinois Lawmakers Discuss Budget Priorities as Legislative Deadline Looms
It’s crunch time in Springfield, with the deadline to pass the state budget for next fiscal year less than two weeks away.
Lawmakers are working to hammer out a balanced spending plan amid federal funding uncertainties and mounting pressure from agencies asking for more money. The Illinois General Assembly has a May 31 deadline and has to weigh what to prioritize with limited resources.
The governor’s office is also projecting state revenues to be more than $500 million less than expected in February when he proposed his $55.2 billion budget plan. Several funding sources are coming up short — sales tax income is down $146 million, federal dollars for Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements are down $278 million and corporate tax revenue is down $88 million.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) said the state is bearing the brunt of a looming economic downturn brought on by the Trump administration’s financial policies.
“It’s clear that the president’s tariffs have cost the consumer, the business community and the market to be worried and alarmed,” Ford said. “That slows down any economy, and it hurts our economy here in Illinois. So Washington, the Republican congresspeople and senators are hurting the economy because they won’t stand up to this administration.”
Republicans, on the other hand, are sounding the alarm on the growing budget deficit and the possibility of taxes going up. State Sen. Don DeWitte (R-West Dundee) said Republicans in Springfield warned Gov. JB Pritzker of potential revenue shortfalls at the beginning of the budget season.
“It’s no surprise that there are significant revenue shortfalls,” DeWitte said. “We knew back in February, and we made it clear that the day before the governor’s budget address in February there was a $3 billion deficit in the revenue stream. Miraculously, the day before, that number shrank to a billion dollars. The reality is that’s where it actually stands today. The governor’s talking about a $500 million shortfall in revenue, but there’s actually another $470 million in tax increases that are incorporated into this new budget. He’s still a billion dollars short on revenue, and it’s time for the governor to start tightening his belt when it comes to protecting the taxpayers of Illinois.”
The budget battle comes amid growing federal funding uncertainties as the Trump administration places Illinois and Chicago under national scrutiny for its sanctuary city and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. With ongoing cuts to the Department of Education, Medicaid and Social Security, billions of federal dollars could be in limbo for Illinois for the next fiscal year.
Last week, Pritzker attributed some of the state’s budget challenges to the Trump administration.
“This is certainly a tough year,” Pritzker said at an event Thursday. “But I would remind you that if you look around the country, every state is facing this challenge right now. It’s partly because of the expected slowdown of the economy since the new administration came into office.”
But DeWitte said the state’s financial challenges can’t be attributed to what’s happening in Washington. He said the only cuts in federal funding the state has seen have been money allocated for the state’s food bank programs.
“Medicare is looking at some potential cuts, but frankly that’s something that every state, specifically Illinois, needs to be looking at when it comes to the waste and fraud that occurs in Medicaid spending,” DeWitte said. “I don’t have a problem with the federal government looking at every single dollar being spent on those federal programs right now. What’s going to be important is whether the governor choses to respond to those in a financially responsible manner.”
COVID-19 relief funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is also set to expire in 2026, leaving another gap in funds that support human services such as mental health and substance abuse programs.
Meanwhile, agencies such as the Regional Transit Authority and Chicago Public Schools are calling on the state to provide more funding for services that get more expensive every year. Pritzker’s proposal already includes some cuts, such as ending health care benefits for undocumented people aged 42 to 64 — a controversial move some lawmakers and immigrant rights activists have been pushing back against.
Ford said Chicago is already starting to see the local impact of the Trump administration’s policies, with community-based organizations and state universities seeing cuts in federal grants.
“It’s important to note that if you are a regular person, and you’re not a part of the 1%, the Republicans in Washington will hurt you,” Ford said. “They’re going to cut your food; they’re going to cut your health; they’re going to cut your education. We have to stand up to the Republicans in Washington.”
