Today Illinois Democrats pushed through a partisan, unbalanced budget for Fiscal Year 2021 that increases spending by 6.8%. The budget spends $42.8 billion while revenues are expected to be only $36.8 billion, $5 billion of which comes from additional borrowing to be paid back over the next decade. In response to the passage of the budget, State Representative Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) issued the following statement:
“House Republicans pushed for a responsible, balanced budget that included a pay reduction for lawmakers. What we got instead was a wildly out-of-balance budget that actually increases spending by $2 billion at a time when state tax revenues have plummeted. Democrats shut Republicans out of final budget discussions and made sure the budget that came to the floor included a nice pay raise for themselves. I could not support such an irresponsible abuse of legislative authority.
“Including a pay raise for legislators is a slap in the face to every Illinoisan who has suffered financial loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when people have lost their jobs, had their hours reduced, or been forced to take furlough days or weeks, lawmakers have no business giving themselves raises. House Republicans filed a bill to reduce pay to 2019 levels and they rejected it and buried the bill in the Rules Committee. What Democrats did today was shameful.”