(The Center Square) – Illinois lawmakers gave Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget report mixed reviews.
Following the governor’s State of the State address on Wednesday, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said he had high praise for the governor for prioritizing important projects.
“I heard a lot of common priorities. We will continue to invest in public education. The governor is proposing more financial aid for college students,” Harmon said.
State Sen. Terri Bryant of Murphysboro responded to Pritzker’s statement that the state’s gross domestic product has increased to more than $1.2 trillion from $881 billion when he took office.
“It’s interesting that the governor used a dollar amount, not a percentage, because the increase in Illinois was 4%. The rest of the country was seeing increases of over 40%,” Bryant said.
Pritzker proposed general fund appropriations of $54.8 million for fiscal 2027, down from $55.2 billion in 2026, but including transfers to other state funds, the total appropriations for 2027 would be $56 billion.
The Illinois House speaker has joined Pritzker in criticizing the Trump administration, but a Republican state senator said the governor is making life more expensive.
Like Pritzker, Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has also been critical of President Donald Trump’s administration.
“We see every day how Donald Trump’s tariff plan taxes working people on every purchase, hurts small businesses and makes everything more expensive,” Welch said.
State Sen. Andrew Chesney of Freeport said it is the governor, not the president, who is increasing government spending in Illinois.
“It is J.B. Pritzker, not Donald Trump, who is raising gas taxes, providing taxpayer-funded health care for transgender people and illegal immigrants, paying for taxpayer-funded abortions and repealing the school choice tax credit program,” Chesney said.
State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) said average employee wages have dropped 21% since Pritzker took office. Niemerg said utility bills increased 83% during the same period.
“These are working people’s problems. He’s a billionaire who’s out of touch with reality and he’s not going to be the next president of the United States,” Niemerger said.