Illinois’ $53-billion budget is now the law for the state. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the spending plan sent to him by state lawmakers a few days earlier. It raises spending by $1.1 billion over the last fiscal year.
There is a lot to this budget. Some of the spending highlights include an increase for public schools of $350 million, half a billion for the governor’s priority of establishing a quantum computing campus, $50 million for a new state child tax credit for families with kids younger than 12, $290 million to address homelessness, a controversial $182 million on supporting migrants sent to the state by bus and $45 million to address the state’s teacher shortage.
There’s also the revenue side of the equation to account for the increase in spending. That means taxes. First, the grocery tax will be eliminated in 2026. Sports betting companies will see a tax increase from 15 percent to a graduated range of 20 to 40 percent. There’s a one percent increase for video gambling operators, and businesses will be limited to writing of their losses on taxes to $500 thousand.
A warning about a budget shortfall loomed large going into this legislative session. Those fiscal concerns didn’t stop lawmakers from sending a budget to the governor with that significant spending increase.
We’ll talk about the budget and legislative session overall with House Minority Leader Tony McCombie and Senator Mike Halpin.
“What we were able to do this year is make sure the budget prioritizes things we want to see in the state,” Halpin said. “We really put a lot of effort into investing in those areas that are going to help people back in our districts.”
“Our state is very diverse, and whether it’s the Quad Cities or central Illinois or southern Illinois or Chicago we have very different needs,” McCombie said. “Although this budget has some good things in it, it does leave things out, and it certainly does have tax increases that I believe will hurt a lot of our border communities, and that includes the Quad Cities.”
To hear more from the panel, click on the video.
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June 9, 2024 at 11:03AM
Illinois Delivered 