Prairie State Wire

Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Clark), gubernatorial candidate, said on Twitter in mid-April that the focus of government should be "fixing our fiscal mess."

"Taxpayers deserve accountability in Springfield," Bailey's post said. "We must focus on fixing our fiscal mess and instituting sustainable spending reforms that prioritize middle-class and working-class people over corporations and special interests."  

This was the latest in a string of criticisms of Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) by Bailey.

"It’s time that we put an end to the nonsense of passing pork-filled budgets full of unread pages and empty promises, and it’s time we stand up for working people that politicians in Springfield continually ask to carry the load for their woke, unrealistic agendas," Bailey said on Twitter.

In the hours before the legislature passed the budget for the 2023 fiscal year, Bailey shared a speech from the Senate floor. 

"This'll be my fourth budget that I've participated in since coming here to Springfield," the senator said, as reported by Prairie State Wire. "Here we are again: another year, another enormous budget dropped on us at the last minute. Full of promises and pork spending and who knows what else? I'm tired of this body selling out taxpayers to special interests and dropping pork-filled budgets created behind closed doors with over 3,200 pages, hours before asking legislators to vote for it."                  

The House of Representatives voted on the $46.5 billion budget just before 6 a.m. on April 9, according to the Chicago Tribune.