Prairie State Wire

As Gov. JB Pritzker’s annual budget message nears, Republican House leadership is reminding him that the executive branch must deliver a balanced budget, reports Capital News Illinois.

Republicans criticized his adopted budget last May for the current fiscal year, because it counted on an aid package from the federal government and a constitutional amendment allowing for a graduated income tax to make ends meet, the article states. Those never materialized, and the state was left with a gaping deficit.  

Pritzker’s budget allocated $42.9 billion in General Revenue Fund spending

Deputy Minority Leader Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) | File photo

“The Illinois Constitution cannot be more clear about the responsibilities of the executive branch,” House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) said, as reported by Capitol News Illinois. “Article 8, Section 2 and 2(b) says that the governor presents a budget that must balance spending with estimated revenue available for that fiscal year. Estimated revenue, not wishful thinking.”

Capitol News Illinois reports that the shortfall could exceed $1 billion for the current fiscal year, even after attempts by the governor to backtrack. Late last year, the governor arranged for $700 million in spending reductions and announced plans to borrow $2 billion through the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility, the article states.

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, Illinois budget legislators handed over unprecedented authority to the executive branch to move and allocate funding, Deputy Minority Leader Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) pointed out, according to the article.

“Last year, the state was on the receiving end of billions of dollars from the federal government and, again, it was programs that were overseen by the administration through emergency rules and through an unprecedented level of appropriation authority that was unchecked and unreviewed by the General Assembly,” Demmer said. “We must reengage our role as a coequal branch of government to provide the kinds of checks and balances that the people of Illinois expect.”

The most recent report by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget shows revenues are coming it at a 6.2% higher rate than expected, but the state’s spending has also been higher than anticipated, thanks in large part to extra Medicaid expenses, Capitol News Illinois reports.

The governor’s budget message for the coming year is yet to come, but an email from his office to Capitol News Illinois stated that the $700 million in spending cuts will carry over into the next year. He also intends to bolster revenue by closing what he termed “corporate tax loopholes,” which are costing the state approximately $900 million.

Despite state law calling for the addition of $350 million to the K-12 funding formula each year, the article states Pritzker said he will not add any funding.

Capitol News Illinois reports that the budget will still be short approximately $3 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.