McLean County Times

In a Feb. 15 Facebook video, Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) shared her thoughts on the governor's budget address and offered mixed feedback. 

Rezin had praise for Pritzker's proposals to invest in the state's youth. 

"During the budget address, the governor laid out his plans for the budget for the next year. So this starts the beginning of the budget negotiations for the next several months," she said. "The Governor did outline the importance of investing in early childcare, which I agree with. Right now we have child care deserts throughout the entire state, especially in rural areas. I was encouraged to hear the governor talking about the importance of investing in childcare."

Pritzker has proposed an ambitious pre-kindergarten program for the state, called Smart Start Illinois, that would provide early childhood education programs to every 3- and 4-year old in the state. This initiative would fund childcare, pre-K education, home visits and early intervention services.

Rezin expressed doubt however about Pritzker's ability to avoid financial trouble with his initiatives.

"If you pull together everything that he talked about, there will be a huge budget increase," she said. "Our concerns for next year are that we have been told that there will be a budget cliff, which will be difficult for us. So, I would say that it is important we make sure that there are many good ideas. We have to prioritize what we spend our money on this year and ensure that we avert any kind of financial cliff next year."

In his address Pritzker touted fiscal progress. 

 "What was once an Illinois with $17 billion in overdue bills is now an Illinois that pays its bills on time. What was once an Illinois that went years without a budget is now an Illinois that has passed four balanced budgets in a row. What was once a state with no cushion to protect it in an economic downturn is now an Illinois on track to have a $2.3 billion Rainy Day Fund."

Pritzker also said the state's credit rating was improving, and he gave a list of billions of dollars in debt that had been paid off.

Rezin was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in November of 2010, and was then appointed to the Illinois State Senate. She was sworn in as State Senator in 2010, and has continually represented the 38th Legislative District since then.