Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed spending plan anticipates $52.9 billion in revenue, with new funds raised by increasing certain corporate tax rates, lowering personal and business income tax deductions and making other tax changes. 

The state’s two main fiscal forecasting agencies agree: Illinois’ finances will see a strong close in the final 3 ½ months of the fiscal year before things tighten a bit next year.

More money for migrants, increased access to preschool, a break on grocery bills and a prescription for how the state could wipe out medical debt — those are some of the spending plans in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s nearly $53 billion state budget.

Illinois shoppers would save a dollar when they buy $100 worth of groceries under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal to eliminate a state sales tax on groceries.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday unveiled a $52.7 billion budget that he described as filled with “hard choices.” The plan builds on priorities like funding preschool, supporting Black residents, funding the neediest schools and caring for asylum seekers.

If Illinois continues spending next fiscal year as it has been this year, the state will face an $891 million deficit. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to spell out exactly how he plans to address that on Wednesday, when he delivers an annual combined state of the state and budget address. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Police Department say they’re moving into a “new age of policing” while rebuilding the department. They are also asking for more money, patience and time.

Passing a budget is arguably the single must-happen task for lawmakers and it was supposed to have been done by Friday, but that self-imposed deadline came and went without any budget action.

Illinois Democrats have the ranks to pass a new state budget, but an inability to agree on spending figures means they blew past Friday’s deadline and will return to the capitol next week in another attempt to get the job done.

Last summer, the 5,000 Chicagoans selected to participate in the city’s guaranteed income pilot program began receiving $500 per month. The Resilient Communities program was designed to help income-qualified Chicagoans stabilize their financial circumstances.

The deficit reduction goal is significantly higher than the $2 trillion that Biden had promised in his State of the Union address last month. It also is a sharp contrast with House Republicans, who have called for a path to a balanced budget but have yet to offer a blueprint.

Speaking before a joint session of the General Assembly, Gov. J.B. Pritzker acknowledged that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it has been years since he last gave the ceremonial presentation from the Illinois House.

An additional 5,000 children will be able to go to preschool next year under a proposal Gov. J.B. Pritzker will introduce Wednesday when he pitches his 2024 fiscal year plan to legislators and the public.

More than 233,000 Cook County residents applied to be part of the $42 million program, and 3,250 households won a lottery to participate in the two-year program.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen formally put Congress on notice last week that the agency will have to start taking "extraordinary measures" after the US reaches its $31.4 trillion debt limit on Thursday.

Approximately 62% of applicants have jobs, and nearly half have sought medical attention at a hospital’s emergency room in the past year, officials said. An initial lottery will identify 10,000 applicants to verify the information contained in their applications.