McLean County Times

Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently announced his budget plan but many are not happy with it.

"I don't think anyone should envy the governors across the country who are tasked with navigating this pandemic," Sen. Jason. Barickman (R-Bloomington) said in a statement. "The reality is that as we've come through it, Illinois has been the recipient of millions of federal dollars that have helped to prop up our state – that's good for Illinois. But, I think the message by the governor was misleading at best. We've been lucky here in Illinois and the concern I have is the governor's laying the groundwork for permanent spending increases that are going to straddle taxpayers in future years based on the decisions being made today."

Barickman feels that the governor's budget plan relies too much on the one-time federal COVID revenues.

"Middle-class families deserve permanent tax relief, not election-year gimmicks that fail to address Illinois' crushing property tax burden and rampant inflation," Barickman said.

"The people of Illinois deserve long-term solutions that reduce crime, provide tax relief and result in our government spending within its means," Barickman said in a statement.

Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris), the Illinois Senate deputy minority leader, said she fears once the one-time federal COVID-19 relief funds are all finished, the state will be "headed for a budgetary disaster." 

“A one-year relief is the absolute bare minimum,” Rezin said in a statement after the governor’s address. “Our constituents want and deserve long-term relief for overtaxation. If we continue to play games and do the bare minimum, our state will continue to witness residents leaving in droves. We must implement permanent tax credits across the board.”

Pritzker's state budget totals $112.5 billion.

Of that, $45.5 billion would be from the state's general revenue fund, and the rest is from federal funds. Public employee pensions are a big part of the budget.