McLean County Times

As the budget deadline looms in Illinois, concerns grow over the state's financial health. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) has issued a report highlighting a significant drop in federal funds by $227 million in April. This decline is worrying as federal money constitutes a substantial portion of Illinois' general funds. Governor Pritzker and legislative Democrats have been criticized for continuing high spending levels even after temporary COVID-19 relief funds ended, necessitating a nearly $1 billion tax increase last year.

There was some positive news with an increase of almost $765 million in personal income taxes paid into the state treasury in April. However, this may be linked to the April 15 tax deadline and might not be sustained. Speaker Chris Welch commented, “We’re going to pass balanced budgets. And listen, when you’re in charge of a large group of tax-and-spend Democrats, that ain’t always easy.”

Ethics reform efforts are facing challenges as well. The newly formed "Ethics and Elections" committee has jurisdiction over ethics reforms but has refused to hear any bills on this issue. Despite numerous proposals from House Republicans, no ethics reform bills progressed this spring.

On a lighter note, Rep. Bunting is promoting his summer reading program for kindergarten through fifth-grade students with the theme "Level Up at Your Library!" Participants who read at least eight books will be invited to an ice cream party.

In other news, the Grundy Economic Development Council hosted its annual Legislative Breakfast with record attendance of over 230 people. The event facilitated discussions between legislators and the public.

Currently, Illinois faces a backlog of unpaid bills amounting to $1,810,295,408 submitted to the Comptroller for payment. This figure does not include unfunded debts like the state's pension liability exceeding $100 billion.

Illinois remains under scrutiny for various issues including sanctuary state policies and new regulations such as safe digging laws now taking effect.