SPRINGFIELD -- With just over a day until the scheduled adjournment of the spring legislative session, Democratic lawmakers filed a $55.3 billion spending plan that relies on more than $1 billion in tax hikes and other revenue-generating measures.
The plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 would not increase income tax or sales tax rates, but it would up so-called sin taxes on tobacco, vaping products and certain gambling activities. It would also bank on revenue from a delinquent tax payment incentive program, according to state Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, the Senate Democrats' lead budget negotiator.
The 3,363-page appropriations bill, filed around 6 p.m. on the penultimate day of the spring session, includes line items detailing the state's operating and capital budgets. The specific revenue language was not immediately available.
People are also reading... Former Central Catholic, Illinois State star called up to major leagues Chicago man nets 315 years for sexually abusing McLean County minor Bloomington man found building guns in his home, prosecutors say Bloomington woman sentenced to 75 years for sending child sex abuse images online Flick Fact: All hail Flingers Pizza! But what was there before? Bloomington man released after prosecutors said he possessed 13 images depicting child sex abuse New movie theater to open in former Ovation Cinema in Bloomington Memorial Day parades, ceremonies and more planned in Central Illinois Flick Fact: Airbnbs? B-N has HOW many? Funerals today for May 27 Illinois lawmakers pass bill to raise age of senior driving tests Flick Fact: The Rock Hall of Fame member singing in a muddy Heyworth farm field? U High, El Paso-Gridley claim girls state track championships McLean County jail's RESET program goes beyond standard inmate services Cold air funnel cloud spotted in Tazewell Co.; more possible throughout Central Illinois
State lawmakers entered this year already grappling with flattening revenue. Adding to the trouble is the prospect of deep cuts in federal funding to state programs like Medicaid under a plan being crafted by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
The situation has left many state lawmakers acknowledging that they may have to come back to the Capitol this summer or fall to adjust the spending plan, depending on what is included in the federal budget that eventually passes.
"Across the board, there are decisions that are happening in Washington will affect our entire budget, whether that's our Medicaid spending, whether that's education, whether that's our environment," Sims told reporters Friday evening. "So we're focused on making sure we prepare for those challenges."
In addition to new revenue, the proposal includes some belt-tightening.
Most notably, it eliminates the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA) program, which provides health care to non-citizen adults between the ages of 42 to 64, regardless of immigration status, who are otherwise ineligible for Medicaid benefits.
The COVID-19 era program became a flashpoint after costs ballooned far beyond what was initially allocated. Lawmakers in 2023 eventually budgeted $550 million and implemented cost controls to prevent future growth of the program. Last year, about $629 million was earmarked for the program, which was projected to grow beyond $1.1 billion without cost control measures.
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker did not include the program in the initial budget he introduced in February and Sims said it stayed out "in recognition of the challenges that we're seeing coming out of Washington." The program's elimination will save an estimated $330 million.
While the budget proposal includes the full $300 million annual increase in K-12 education funding under the state's evidence-based funding formula, there is a "pause" on the $50 million that has been set aside under EBF every year for property tax relief.
Pritzker initially proposed a $55.2 billion spending plan in February. The administration and state lawmakers have since been negotiating largely behind closed doors the fine details of the plan.
The Governor's Office of Management and Budget, in a report released earlier this month, revised its revenue estimate for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, from about $55.4 billion to about $54.9 billion -- a $536 million drop.
Pritzker earlier this week ruled out increasing broad-based taxes to fill the gap, leaving his administration and legislators to search around the edges and get creative.
Meanwhile, Pritzker's proposed "Surplus to Success" program, which is intended to flip unused or excess state-owned sites for economic development, received its full $300 million appropriation from the capital budget, which is in a separate bucket from the operating budget.
The funds will be used for demolition, remediation and improvements and five state-owned sites:
the former Dwight Correctional Center;the former Jacksonville Developmental Center;the former Lincoln Developmental Center;a 70-acre tract of unused land on the campus of Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee;the former H. Douglas Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford.
Once cleaned up, the properties would be marketed through the state's site selection database, a tool that allows companies to search available properties across the state based on their unique needs.
State lawmakers are scheduled to wrap up their spring session on Saturday. If they do not pass a budget by then, the threshold for passage would rise from a simple majority vote to a supermajority vote.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Contact Brenden Moore at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @brendenmoore13
Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Brenden Moore
State Government Reporter
Author twitter Author email Follow Brenden Moore Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today