On the last day of the legislative session, Illinois House Democrats passed the FY26 budget that will cost taxpayers more than $55.2 billion, a $2 billion increase over last year.
State spending under Governor Pritzker has grown exponentially since he took office in 2019. When he took over as Governor, state expenditures were $40.3 billion. Each year since we have seen state spending grow and we now have a budget that is $15 billion higher than when he took office.
When Governor Pritzker delivered his Budget Address in February, he said, “If you come to the table looking to spend more – I’m going to ask you where you want to cut.”
So much for that sound byte. The newly passed budget contains $1 billion in tax hikes to pay for new spending, pork barrel projects for Democrats, and pay raises for politicians.
For several years in a row, the Democrats have negotiated spending plans behind closed doors, excluded Republican input, rejected accountability, and raised taxes on Illinoisans in order to quench their never-ending thirst to spend more money.
House Republicans have repeatedly offered to work with the majority party to craft a balanced budget without tax hikes, but were once again completely shut out of the process.
Democrats succeeded in incorporating near-record spending and huge tax hikes in the FY26 budget, showing no fiscal restraint and failing to implement structural reforms. Democrats even rewarded themselves with millions in pork projects and a big fat pay raise for politicians in the budget. All on the taxpayer’s dime. Like a kid in a candy store, Democrats can’t seem to control themselves.
Here's what some of our legislative members are saying:
“Rather than pursuing meaningful structural reforms to secure our state’s future, Democrats chose to prioritize politician pay raises, steal from the rainy-day fund, and funnel money into their own pork projects.” ~House Minority Leader Tony McCombie“The tax-and-spend budget passed by Illinois Democrats is completely irresponsible. It’s a $55 billion budget that relies on $1 billion in new taxes, a massive number of fund sweeps, and hundreds of millions of dollars in Road Fund diversions. What’s in this budget? Pay raises for politicians. Nearly $250 million in pork projects for Democratic legislators aka the ‘Democratic Majority Slush Fund’ and an additional $100 million slush fund for the Governor. ~ Deputy House Republican Leader and Republican Budgeteer Norine Hammond.
“The Democrats’ wasteful spending plan is full of pork projects and pay raises for politicians, while Illinois families are slammed with new taxes that will make their cost of living even higher,” Rep. Davidsmeyer said. “$250 million in pork projects for Democratic legislators, paid for $1 billion in new taxes on Illinois families and businesses. It’s the same disgraceful playbook they’ve used for years.” ~ Assistant Republican Leader C.D. Davidsmeyer
“This budget doesn’t reflect Illinois values—it reflects bad governance. Every dollar spent on enabling Illinois’ financial crisis is a dollar taken away from the law-abiding Illinoisans who pay their taxes, play by the rules, and now feel abandoned by their government.” ~ Assistant Republican Leader John Cabello