The Illinois Legislature has until midnight Saturday to pass a budget without the need for a supermajority.
House Republican lawmakers discussed a lack of budget transparency, advocated for reform measures and no tax increases at a news conference on Thursday.
State Representative Blaine Wilhour says at some point, state leaders need to be honest with the taxpayers and that there is “no reason under the sun” that government spending in the state increased by 45 percent since 2019 when Governor Pritzker took office.
“We need to focus on reducing the size of the government,” Wilhour said. “We really need to focus on getting the government the heck out of the way. If we did that in Illinois, that would make a big difference. That would encourage economic growth.”
Wilhour called the budgets he has seen since 2019 not serious documents but “fiscal fantasy” that is “fake and all smoke and mirrors.” He is especially frustrated with energy policy that has changed the state of Illinois from an exporter to one concerned about shortages impacting the number of industries willing to invest in Illinois.
Meanwhile, Capitol News Illinois reports Governor JB Pritzker has pledged to reporters in a Wednesday event at the state Capitol Complex that he would veto any budget that lawmakers send him if it contains “broad-based tax increases.”
State Revenues have declined below the amount Pritzker proposed spending in February. That means lawmakers may need to cut spending if they can’t find other ways to raise revenue.