My look of disbelief as I watch the vote on the biggest budget in state history.
A week after the budget is passed we have more information to share on the Democrat budget that was passed with only hours to review the 3,389-page bill.
Please click on the link below to read more about the budget. I have included a list of the new taxes that will be forced on Illinoisans to pay for the Democrat overspending in the chart below.
Here is a link to more information: repcmiller.com/2025/06/04/budget-breakdown-more-taxes-and-sweeping-funds/
Below is a list of major revenue changes that were included as part of the FY26 budget, which includes tax increases, fund sweeps, pauses in statutory transfers, among other items.
Last week an announcement was made that META (Facebook) signed a power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy to purchase power from the Clinton Nuclear Plant located in Illinois. This is the same plant that taxpayers and ratepayers bailed out in 2016 in the Future Energy Jobs Act. Clinton was one of the plants threatened with closure. FUJA gave Exelon $2.4 billion to keep it and another plant operational. Exelon sold the plant to Constellation Energy.
It is good to hear that Clinton will stay open and that META will provide a substantial amount of money to make that happen. Let’s be clear here, though, META is purchasing clean energy credits. They aren’t just giving Clinton a billion dollars without getting a return on their bottom-line.
In the articles covering the deal, Clinton officials have said they will increase power outage by 30 megawatts. Large data centers can consume between 20MW-100MW of power.
Read More Here: finance.yahoo.com/news/constellation-meta-sign-20-deal-110000999.html
Democrats Rob Us Every Chance They Get
Governor Pritzker’s 3,000 page, $55+ BILLION budget was approved by Democrat lawmakers and contains over $394 million in new or higher taxes. NOT included in that total is the $43 million property tax break that they took away from Illinoisans.
Meanwhile, the Democrat Supermajority increased their spending by $2 billion since the last budget, and the state spending is up $16.7 billion since Pritzker took office.
And their party can’t figure out why people and businesses are fleeing Illinois in droves??www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-adds-394m-in-taxes-on-airbnb-velo-draftkings-as-it-yanks-property-tax-break/
Illinois’ Party Of Death Has Its Plans Put On Hold
After a lengthy debate on the House floor, Illinois Democrats’ aid-in-dying legislation (Senate Bill 1950) remains at the Statehouse after it failed to clear the Senate before legislators adjourned for the summer.
The bill was initially and deceitfully introduced as “sanitary food preparation” legislation, but it actually provides doctors with the authority to prescribe death-inducing drugs to qualified patients with terminal diseases upon the patient’s request.https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_7ad036d3-6175-4d98-83db-bc9af3bed6c4.html
Pritzker Could Have Lowered Property Taxes but Refused
JB Pritzker has yet again failed the citizens of Illinois by refusing to lower property taxes. Instead, Speaker Welch was gifted $40 million to his Democrat district. Progressive Democrats have turned over unprecedented authority to make spending decisions to Governor Pritzker in this budget. Read more…
Illinois Democrats Are Playing The Blame Game
Everyone involved is pointing fingers. But in the end, Illinoisans are the ones stuck with the bills and the headaches as we brace ourselves for an energy cost crisis this summer.
Bad-policy-Democrats are whining about bureaucratic utility providers, outdated power grids and an all-around lack of planning since the 1990’s. But their impulsive, ineffective and self-serving legislation is equally if not more to blame for the predicament Illinois finds itself in.
House Republicans introduced several measures this past spring that would have rolled back provisions of J.B. Pritzker’s fantasy climate legislation (the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act), but none of their proposals even made it to the House floor for debate.https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_99ece8aa-7a95-4daa-bbbb-00e9fcd6722b.html
A Rare Moment
But we’ll take it.
In a stunning turn of events, an Illinois House Republican’s bill (HB5798) made it into the 2026 budget. It addresses the Democrats’ push to increase pension benefits for Tier 2 government workers hired after 2011.
The bill provides that “if an eligible Tier 2 member would receive a pension benefit that is less than the eligible Tier 2 member’s hypothetical Social Security benefit, then the eligible Tier 2 member’s pension benefit shall be increased to the amount of the hypothetical Social Security benefit plus $1.”
The situation is slightly more complicated than that, but essentially Democrats are arguing that they are merely trying to comply with the IRS when, in fact, lawmakers, pension regulators, DC lawyers and even the IRS itself can’t produce any evidence that supports their claim.
Illinoisans are burdened with the nation’s highest pension debt- $172 BILLION.
The Tier 2 issue is nothing more than a distraction, when what really needs to happen is PENSION REFORM.https://wirepoints.org/common-sense-prevails-for-once-in-the-illinois-statehouse-wirepoints/
Don’t Give Up On School Choice, Illinois!
From the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board:
“Illinois once boasted a program that allowed low-income students to obtain scholarships for private school. It was a lifeline for many families whose kids were flailing in large public schools…
…Then, state lawmakers, at the urging of teachers unions, let the program expire at the end of 2023, leaving thousands of kids out of options. Without this program, called Invest in Kids, there was simply no money for their families to be able to cover tuition.”
The fact remains that school choice is NOT a zero-sum game (as its opponents claim). It is a system that the majority of Illinoisans support, and it would serve the needs of ALL students and their families. It would also deal a major blow to the corrupt and failed system we are currently stuck with that faces little to no accountability or competition at all.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/editorial-chance-school-choice-illinois-100000220.html?
Eggspiration Dates
The price of eggs has decreased 61% since January, but chances are your family still won’t go through dozens of them every week. So, expiration dates do matter- but what do they actually mean?
This article decodes the egg carton’s freshness stamp and how you can be sure you always have good ones on hand in your kitchen:
www.bhg.com/do-eggs-expire-11680762
This article gives an update on the current egg situation in the U.S.:www.oann.com/newsroom/report-egg-costs-down-61-since-start-of-trumps-second-term/
Here is a map of the new 101st House District. Use this link for a clearer picture and to enter your address to see if you live in the district: https://repcmiller.com/district/
As your state representative, my office is available to assist you with any issues you may have when interacting with a state agency.
Please call our office at 217.508.4108 to get help or schedule an appointment to see me. The office is located at 1113 Lincoln Ave, Charleston and is open Mon-Fri from 9am- 4 pm.