Illinois House Republicans are reacting to the Pritzker Administration’s announcement of a $3.2 billion projected budget deficit for FY26. The lawmakers have repeatedly voiced concerns about the state’s budget process, especially for the past fiscal year which relied on gimmicks and tax hikes amid the Majority Party’s continued failure to manage state finances responsibly.
Despite raising taxes by $1 billion in FY25, the Pritzker Administration is now scrambling to address a staggering deficit by asking state agencies to propose cuts to programs and operations. While this outcome could have been avoided had the Majority Party exercised fiscal discipline and listened to repeated concerns voiced by House Republican lawmakers. Instead, they relied on temporary federal windfalls from the COVID-19 pandemic and other non-repeatable revenue sources to prop up unsustainable spending priorities.
State Representative Chris Miller issued the following statement:
“The radical Democrats refuse to work for the citizens of Illinois, but they continue to use their tax dollars to fund illegal immigrants and pork projects,” said Rep. Miller. “It’s absolutely ridiculous that the state budget grows every year, and yet Illinois continues to see a decline in population, education, opportunity, and the economy. Pritzker needs to realize that bad public policy crafted by his party is responsible for the fiscal cliff Illinois is facing.”
Major cost drivers in recent budgets have been Medicaid expansions including free healthcare for illegal immigrants, increased funding for K-12 education, expanded early childhood and afterschool programs, public safety reforms under the so-called SAFE-T Act, human services programs, and the rising costs of group health insurance and the AFSCME contract. While many of these initiatives address real needs, they were implemented without a long-term plan to pay for them.
The uphill battle this year’s budget presents is nothing new for House Republicans, who have repeatedly voiced concerns about the state’s reckless spending, the expansion of new programs, and the lack of transparency in budget processes.
As legislative veto session concluded in the Illinois House, lawmakers will now return to the legislature for the Lame Duck Session early next year.