Reversing his prior profligacy, Gov. J.B. Pritzker blames the president for his ‘maintenance’ budget.

In a speech that was as short in length as it was on details, Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week outlined a tight budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year that begins July 1.

He left it to reporters to disclose the budgetary specifics — $56 billion, a small increase from the current year’s $55 billion-plus operating budget. The governor called it a “maintenance budget” mandated by revenue shortfalls that include a decline in federal support.

But that didn’t stop the big spenders — the Illinois Federation of Teachers, for one — from denouncing the governor’s reality-driven parsimony and issuing another call for tax increases on “the ultra rich in Illinois.”

Expect that more rhetoric along those lines can be expected as Pritzker and legislators sit down to iron out all the details of the state’s spending plan in the coming months.

The governor’s current budget proposal is a far cry from his previous budgets, all of which included substantial spending hikes and tax increases. His first budget — for the 2019-20 fiscal year — was $38.9 billion.

It remains to be seen how legislators will react to the new spending plan.

Given Pritzker’s political ambitions — re-election as governor this year and election as president in 2028 — it’s no surprise that he turned his back on calls for major tax increases.

But legislators — just how many is unclear — have filled newspaper pages in recent days with a variety of plans, including a “millionaire’s tax.”

One statement that should curl the hair on taxpayers’ necks came from Chicago Democratic state Sen. Graciela Guzmán. She was quoted as saying, “I think right now the growing sentiment is ‘Let’s get as much revenue as possible.’”

Therein lies the tension that will be present during the upcoming budget negotiations between the Democratic governor and the Democratic super-majorities in the House and Senate.

Pritzker embraced new and old policy proposals in his address.

Similar to actions in other states, he called on legislators to ban cellphones from public schools. He proposed a freeze on tax incentives for energy-hungry data centers. In a huge flip from a previous position, Pritzker lauded Illinois as a leading producer of clean nuclear energy and revealed plans for greater production.

“I’ve issued an executive order designed to speed up building new clean nuclear power so we can increase our electricity supply and secure our energy future,” he said.

A state’s operating budget is made up of mammoth proposals, taking up hundreds of pages outlining programs in excruciating details. One speech by a governor can barely cover the most important aspects of a 12-month spending plan.

But even in that sense, the Pritzker plan was light on detail. He bragged about financial improvements in our financially lagging state. He laid out details for improvements in housing and health care.

Once again, he reiterated his intense personal and political animosity against his favorite punching bag, Republican President Donald Trump. He charged Trump has improperly denied Illinois $8.4 billion in statutorily mandated federal aid.

There also was, of course, the usual self-congratulation for himself and his party.

That’s why this speech was more politically oriented than policy driven. There’s nothing wrong with that. Pritzker is a politician with vast ambitions, and his annual budget address is a useful platform to tout his virtues.