From State Senator Don DeWitte:
Legislators Send Governor Record-High Budget with $1 Billion in New Taxes
[Below is Senator Don DeWitte’s speech against the budget bill.]
On the final day of the spring legislative session, the House and Senate passed a $55.2 billion budget and the supporting implementation documents, and sent those bills to the Governor.
The new budget, which will take effect on July 1, 2026, includes an increase in spending of $2 billion, or 3.9%, over the current budget.
With the passage of the FY 2026 budget, state spending under Governor Pritzker has increased by $15 billion, or almost 40%, since he took office six years ago.
For perspective, consider this: It took every Illinois Governor in history 200 years to get to the $30 billion budget threshold.
In just six years, Governor Pritzker has exploded spending to $55.2 billion. It’s the fastest, most dramatic spending expansion in our state’s history.
Democrats from the Senate and House joined all republicans in voting against the bloated budget.
However, despite the bipartisan opposition, the measures did pass, and the Governor has signaled that he will sign them into law.
The budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2025, includes approximately $1 billion in new tax increases on top of the $1 billion in tax hikes imposed just one year ago.
Because the 3,363-page budget plus the supporting documents were dropped with only a few hours for review, our policy staff continues to work through the document.
However, for now, here are a few high-level informational items:
Pre-K-12 Education
- The Early Childhood Block Grant, which was supposed to increase by $75 million, remains level with FY 2025.
- The Evidence-Based Funding Formula calls for $350 million in additional funding each year. However, for FY 2026, only $307 million will be directed toward schools through the formula. The additional $43 million, which had been part of a property tax relief fund for the districts across the state with the highest property tax rates, was eliminated from the budget.
- Funding for the Community College Board was decreased by $24 million from the current year, primarily through decreased funding for workforce development grants.
- Funding for state universities will increase by 1% for FY 2026.
- While not part of the budget, through separate legislation, Senate Bill 191, three-point seat belts will be required on new school buses.
Pensions
- The minimum statutorily required payment will be made, but since the payment is not based on actuarial recommendations, the public pension systems will accrue additional debt in FY 2026.
- Tier 2 public pensions are likely out of compliance with the Social Security “safe harbor” law, which requires pension benefits to be, at a minimum, equal to Social Security benefits. The Tier 2 pension system was not reformed in the new budget, despite significant conversations throughout the budgeting process. However, a Tier 2 reserve fund, including $75 million, was created and can be accessed if there are violations of the “safe harbor” law.
Municipalities
- The Local Government Distributive Fund funding formula remains unchanged from FY 2025.
Public Safety
- $5.4 million is allocated for two new State Police cadet classes, which will increase law enforcement numbers by 100 cadets.
Human Services
- An 80-cent-per-hour wage increase for direct support professionals who provide services to Illinois’ intellectually and developmentally disabled (IDD) population is paired with a 35% reduction in allowable service hours, which translates to a loss of approximately 300,000 care hours, or approximately 150 full-time care provider positions (I find this particularly egregious).
- $36 million in additional funding is allocated for addiction treatment services.
- $160 million in additional funding is allocated to cover caseload growth in the Childcare Assistance Program.
- $105 million increase in funding is allocated for the Home Services program to cover caseload growth.
- $40 million is allocated for “Welcoming Centers” for illegal immigrants.
