On Feb. 17, lawmakers across the state watched from their respective districts as the Governor remotely delivered a combined State of the State and Budget Address.
State Senator Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) issued the following statement after the hybrid address:
“The Budget Address delivered by the Governor today perpetuates the same failed gimmicks of the past, supporting a budget that is $1.7 billion out-of-balance while ignoring the hardships the citizens and businesses of this state have faced for the past year.
“And the irony of it all is that the Governor accurately and correctly stated in his budget his constitutional requirement to present a budget based on expected expenditures. Yet, just pages later, he puts forth a plan that relies on $1.5 billion in non-existent revenue.
“While the Governor is relying on magic money and empty rhetoric, he’s taking aim at the hardworking men and women of this state by imposing new tax increases on Illinois’ business community under the guise of “loopholes.” These are the job creators and employees that are still working to recover from Pritzker’s imposed shutdowns that he unilaterally placed on our state for months. We should be focused on supporting our business community, not making it harder to do business in Illinois.
“We must address the root cause of Illinois’ fiscal issues, and that starts with passing a balanced budget that helps our businesses, protects our taxpayers and makes Illinois more competitive with our neighbors.”