CHICAGO – In a preview of what he’s expected to say Wednesday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signaled a series of temporary tax breaks may be coming.

That’s not how critics are describing what they expect from the 2023 Illinois budget Pritzker will unveil at noon.

Republican-leaning critics have a different description of the $1 billion in temporary tax breaks the governor is expected to propose.

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"It’s a campaign year, he’s got billions of dollars from the federal government right now for Covid, Covid relief. It looks like he’s trying to buy votes," said Ted Dabrowski, president at Wirepoints. "He’s not trying to pass real reform, like real pension reform and real property tax reform."

Although few lawmakers will be on hand Wednesday to hear the governor in person, Pritzker will set forth his proposed budget in a speech Illinois law calls for him to deliver.

The speech is expected to run 30 minutes or longer and will apparently include a significant portion on what’s emerging as the number one political issue in this election year – the huge increase in criminal violence in Chicago. Several of his five Republican challengers have called for him to declare it a state emergency.

"We’ve rebuilt, and are rebuilding the state police in Illinois to a great degree. And I’m continuing to look at everything that we can do to address problems like that," Pritzker said. "You don’t need to declare a state of emergency for everything as long as you are treating it with great urgency."

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Pritzker indicated that his proposed 2023 budget would include money for local law enforcement, as well as for social services he has said could help to reduce the shootings and killings that are now at the highest level in nearly 30 years.