SPRINGFIELD – State Representative Dave Severin (R-Benton) voted NO on a budget proposal tonight that spends more than Illinois is projected to take in during the FY 21 fiscal year.
“Upwards of $6 billion of spending in the FY 21, Democrats-only budget relies on borrowing money from the Federal government…from a pool of money that does not yet exist,” Severin said. “Democrats in the Illinois House have bet the financial future of 12 million Illinoisans on the hope that Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump will finally get along. That should tell you how out of touch with reality this spending plan is.”
Severin noted that the Fiscal Year 2021 budget, which takes effect July 1, spends $2 billion more than the FY20 budget, which amounts to a 6.8% increase in spending even though income estimates from state tax revenues have fallen dramatically. The legislation, SB 264, Amendment 5, also grants Governor JB Pritzker unprecedented spending authority at a time Severin says regular Illinoisans are questioning the Governor’s management of the COVID-19 response and economic recovery efforts.
“The Governor’s track record in managing State finances so far has been to propose tax hikes and borrowing to pay for new spending,” Severin said. “We are a state that ranks the lowest in all the wrong categories. We’re upside down as a state, we owe billions in unpaid bills already and tonight Governor Pritzker and Mike Madigan engineered another massive borrowing plan.”
During his February budget address, Governor Pritzker outlined two different budgets. One would reflect spending in the second half of FY 21 that included his sought after progressive income tax increase, and the other was a more austere spending plan that would cut the size of government growth in the near term.
“The Governor promised to increase spending using revenues from a tax hike that has yet to pass when he delivered his budget address,” Severin said. “What we saw tonight was Democrats and Governor Pritzker pass a budget that spends more money by relying on borrowing from a Federal program that doesn’t even exist yet. I voted NO.”