South West Illinois News

State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) hopes Gov. J.B. Pritzker meant at least some of what he said during his recent state of the state address. 

“I like some of the things he said about getting our fiscal house in order,” Bryant said. “It’s time to pass some of that on to taxpayers.”

With the new budget slated to go into effect on July 1, Pritzker proposed a $112.5 billion spending plan that includes providing up to $1 billion in tax relief, steering more than the minimum into public sector pensions and putting hundreds of millions into the state's ravaged rainy day fund.

Nearly half of the overall budget figure, or some $45.5 billion, would come from the state's general revenue fund with the other dollars being federal pass-through funds.

For fiscal year 2022, Pritzker laid out a proposed total budget of $95.5 billion, with $41.6 billion deriving from state funds.

With the state’s unfunded pension liability already in the neighborhood of $140 billion, the administration is also proposing fully funding the required contribution of $9.6 billion with an additional $500 million infusion. The move is expected to reduce unfunded liability by a shade under $2 billion.

Bryant is keeping close watch over all the developments, and hoping that Republicans get to have their say.  

“The governor had a lot of new and expanded programs,” she said. “We’ve talked a lot about the need, if we’re going to get our fiscal house in order, to make sure we don't have new and expanded programs right now. I hope that you’re going to give a seat at the 'grown-up table' for those of us that have good ideas. I think Republicans have some excellent ideas on how to make permanent changes and permanent tax relief to the taxpayers to the state rather than election-year gimmicks.”