Spring session entering final day as budget deadline looms

Yahoo

2 days ago

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WGN) – We're finally getting a look at state lawmakers' $55 billion budget plan with just over 24 hours left in the legislative session.
On the second to last day of session, the three most powerful men in Springfield met behind closed doors.
Talks between Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch (D-Westchester), and Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Illinois) led to the release of a 3,300-page appropriations bill that adds $1 billion in new revenue, though it holds the line on individual and corporate income taxes.
Illinois budget battle: What Chicago needs from Springfield
'We've got $1 billion in revenue for this budget in the area of tax collection, for those who have not paid their taxes as well as those who've made choices in terms of gaming and other – tobacco use and gaming,' Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) said.
Despite having major submajorities in both chambers, Democrats wrestled with a bleak financial picture.
Revenue growth did not meet estimates used to draft Pritzker's budget blueprint.
'This budget includes significant investments in our priorities, education, health care, protecting our most vulnerable,' Sims said.
Democrats are asking their members to pass the $55 billion spending plan despite uncertainty about federal funding.
Lawmakers, groups rally against Medicaid cuts as state budget deadline looms
'It's a tough year. We know instability in Washington, D.C. makes it worse,' Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) said. 'We know there are some real pressures here in the state in trying to bring forth a budget that meets the needs of everybody was a tough one. So this was tough. This has been the toughest budget year since I've been here.'
After months of warning from Chicagoland transit that bus and train service might be cut without a state bailout, lawmakers are working to hike the cost of tolls and rideshares to help the system.
READ: Illinois has a $770M hole in the transit budget that could leave commuters stranded
There's also legislation moving to create a new oversight agency.
'I want to remind folks that when we're talking about CTA, Metra, Pace, this is a statewide transit overhaul,' Buckner said.
House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) suggests some of her members might support the transit reforms.
'We saw the governance piece and I think we could probably get some bipartisan support on that,' McCombie said. 'The funding source is what kind of scares all of us, because what is that going to look like?'
Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines
Democrats expect to meet the budget deadline, but the transit legislation might be broken up into pieces or may not even pass at all on Saturday.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.