Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Freedom Caucus held a Sunday night roundtable two days after the May 19 budget deadline was scrapped. 

“We've known the schedule,” state Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) said during the Facebook livestream. “They wanted to be done by May 19, which was Friday. They want to be done. So they set that arbitrary deadline or I guess they actually – I don't know if it was arbitrary – they moved it up. So we're not going to work through Memorial Day weekend, you know, bump up against May 31. We're going to try to get done and out of here by May 19. But guess what? You're right. That's come and gone and no budget. What do you think is going on?” 

Caucus member Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) said he was not surprised the Democratic supermajority missed the budget deadline. 

“I came in the same time that Gov. Pritzker came in to his first term,” Miller said. “The shocking thing is that our budget is growing depending on what numbers you want to use. Our government has grown at a bare minimum of $10 billion and since J.B. Pritzker has been governor. And I think that that number in reality is more towards $14 billion. And at the same time, we've lost a congressional seat, which means that we lost between 750,000 and 1 million people in population. Like I say, we've been bleeding population, we've been bleeding businesses, we've been bleeding families and we've been bleeding opportunity. And at the same time, they just want to continue to grow government to an absolutely bloated state and eventually it's going to explode.” 

Miller said the spending problem in Illinois is mirrored at the federal level. 

“The reason why that we have the mess that we have is because the public puts pressure on politicians to vote to give them money,” Miller said. “And that's the reason why we have out-of-control spending, why the debt is ballooning both in Illinois and at the national level, because they think there is some, I don't know, some money machine or ATM, government ATM, where we get this government money. It comes from the sky like magic. And there's no accountability in the process. And therefore, we have a mess.” 

The budget was scheduled to be passed by midnight of May 19, and the General Assembly has until May 31 to pass a budget prior to the fiscal year ending on June 30, according to Advantage News. Democratic leaders notified legislators that the session was being extended for budget negotiations. Legislators are now back in session wherein a final budget is expected.

Republican lawmakers have complained the General Assembly Democrats have left the minority party out of the budgeting process. 

“We have attempted numerous meetings with the House Democratic budgeteer, with the speaker and the governor,” Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) said at a news conference, according to Northern Public Radio, West Central Reporter noted. “Only one group has met with us on more than one occasion; that is the governor and his team. No negotiations with others have occurred.”

The Illinois Freedom Caucus is comprised of Republican state Reps. Halbrook (Shelbyville), Blaine Wilhour (Louisville), Adam Niemerg (Teutopolis), Dan Caulkins (Decatur), Miller, Jed Davis (Yorkville), and David Friess (Red Bud). It is part of the broader State Freedom Caucus Network. 

“We need patriots who will serve in our state capitals to fight federal overreach and stand firm against those — in both parties — who prioritize seizing political power over representing constituents,” the group’s website reads.