In a nod to inflationary pressures that have left Democrats across the country vulnerable, Pritzker’s tax-relief package includes the temporary suspension of a 1% sales tax on food. House and post gains in statehouses across the country. The centerpiece of Pritzker’s proposed budget clearly appears built around boosting his fortunes in November, when Republicans are forecast nationally to retake the U.S. The new spending plan the governor is putting on the table will be on a fast track this spring since the legislature is scheduled to conclude its business April 8 so lawmakers can hit the campaign trail ahead of the June 28 primary elections. Last year, Pritzker spoke from an Illinois State Fairgrounds building because the pandemic made gathering in close quarters too risky, particularly since vaccines were not yet in wide distribution. It marked the second straight year that the governor outlined his spending priorities to an empty or nearly empty venue. In past years, signature speeches like the one the governor delivered Wednesday would have come before a crowded House chamber, where Democrats have a stranglehold majority that has the capability of muscling through whatever the governor wants.īut a huge Midwestern snowstorm shut down much of Springfield and made Wednesday’s speech at the Old State Capitol largely a virtual one. Pritzker is seeking funding increases for primary and secondary education, universities and social services wants to add $500 million more than is required to the state’s annual $9.6 billion pension payment and aims to boost the state’s rainy day fund to $879 million, the highest balance since its creation roughly two decades ago. “So, as we move on to tackle the questions of what vital current priorities our government should fund, know that we start from a place where our bills are paid, our most pressing short-term debts are nearly gone and our most critical long term financial liabilities are in the best fiscal shape they have been in since the turn of the century,” the governor continued “Responsible fiscal management is yielding substantial savings, unburdening our state from the anchor that has weighed us down for far too long,” Pritzker said in his budget address to an audience made up of members of his administration and a smattering of lawmakers. Fueled by unexpected jumps in state income and sales tax revenues, his administration finds itself in rare budgetary air because it is expected to end the state fiscal year in June with a $1.7 billion surplus, which will be used, in part, to pay for the one-time tax relief.
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