Latest news with #Pritzker
Chicago Tribune
6 hours ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Amid challenge from banks, Illinois legislators move to delay ban on certain credit card fees
Illinois legislators voted to delay for one year a ban on certain credit card fees that was set to take effect July 1 amid a legal challenge by banks. A measure passed by legislators and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker last year would prevent banks and credit card companies from charging retailers a small fee on sales taxes and tips. Pritzker still has to sign off on the legislature's move to extend the deadline to July 1, 2026. Pritzker on Sunday said that while the delay wasn't his initiative, he anticipated the interchange fee issue 'will probably get resolved over the next year' as it is currently with the courts. Retailers who support the measure say the fees come at a cost to consumers. Banks say the law would create large costs within the payment processing system and inconvenience both businesses and customers. They've also said don't have the infrastructure in place to implement the ban. 'On the banking side, certainly, the technology doesn't exist, nor do we think it will any time soon,' Ben Jackson, executive vice president of government relations at the Illinois Bankers Association, said Monday. The technology needed will still not be ready by July 2026, he said. Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said in a statement Sunday that the delay would take money out of the pockets of Illinoisans and businesses by continuing to allow the fees. 'We remain committed to ensuring this law is not delayed further and urge lawmakers to renew the promise they made to stop the swipe fee greed that's driving up prices and making it harder for families and businesses to make ends meet,' Karr said. The provision on so-called interchange fees was tucked into last year's revenue bill in an effort to provide relief to retailers as the state enacted some $101 million in tax hikes on retailers. Banks ever since then have said the effective date was too soon. Illinois would be the first state to require a distinction on consumer retail transactions between goods, taxes and tips, creating the need for what opponents say would be a complicated and expensive software change. While the fight over over the ban reflects the national political battle between interest groups representing retailers and financial services like Visa and MasterCard, the Illinois law is separate from federal legislation on interchange fees that has been pushed by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. The federal lawsuit filed by the banking interests that challenges the ban has inched forward throughout the spring but it wasn't clear whether a final ruling would be reached by July 1. Financial companies scored a partial victory in court when a federal judge in December agreed to put a temporary hold on the law for some types of institutions including national banks, meaning that they don't need to comply with the law as court proceedings continue. That relief was later expanded to out-of-state banks doing business in Illinois, but other entities including in-state banks remain subject to the law. The IBA as well as the American Bankers Association, America's Credit Unions and the Illinois Credit Union League are plaintiffs in the suit, which names Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul as a defendant. An effort to repeal the law completely did not advance the spring legislative session, while the vote for the delay came on the session's last day. The Electronic Transactions Association, an association representing large companies including Visa, American Express and Bank of America, issued a statement Sunday applauding the decision to put the ban off for the year.
Axios
7 hours ago
- Health
- Axios
Illinois passes budget, but leaves some legislation unfinished
In addition to passing a $55 billion state budget, the Illinois General Assembly passed and punted on various legislation during the session that wrapped Saturday. The big picture: The budget headed to Gov. Pritzker's desk has so-called "sin tax" increases. Pritzker used his budget press conference to take aim at President Trump for slashing federal funding, affecting Illinois and other states. Zoom out: Questions remain on how Chicago-area transit is going to move forward without the funding needed to avoid service cuts and layoffs, but lawmakers will likely work over the summer. Here are some other high-profile bills that did and didn't make it to Pritzker's desk. Medical aid and dying law Catch up quick: Democratic State Sen. Linda Holmes told Axios she pushed for this legislation after watching her mother die of cancer. The bill authorized a qualified patient with a terminal disease to request that a physician prescribe aid-in-dying medication that will allow the patient to die peacefully. The other side: Archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich voiced opposition to the legislation after the bill passed the House, saying the end-of-life medical assistance was against Catholic beliefs. "There is a way to both honor the dignity of human life and provide compassionate care to those experiencing life-ending illness," Cupich said. State of play: The bill passed the House but didn't pass the Senate before Saturday's deadline. Home schooling Context: The bill required parents and guardians who choose to homeschool to notify the school district and set requirements for reporting the progress of home-schooled students. The chief sponsor also maintained that it would save kids who slip through the cracks, who would otherwise have a school support system looking out for their well-being. State of play: Several active members of the homeschool movement rallied in Springfield, calling on lawmakers to kill the legislation, saying it created too much regulation and blamed a "failing" public school system. The Homeschool Act did not get a vote in either chamber. What they're saying: " We haven't given up on fighting for every Illinois homeschooled kid, and we're hopeful the bill will make it across the finish line when the next session starts," The Coalition for Responsible Home Education said in a statement. What we're watching: In other education news, a bill that would have banned cell phones during instructional time didn't make it to the floor for a vote. A bill to allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees made it to assignments but was never called. AI as therapy The big picture: As experts warn about AI taking jobs, mental health professionals in Illinois can rest assured that their jobs are safe for the near future. State of play: Legislation declaring that only licensed therapists, aka humans, can provide psychotherapy services in Illinois passed the legislature. Between the lines: No lawmaker in either the House or Senate voted against in the bill. What we're watching: The House passed legislation that would increase reimbursement rates for mental health care providers and make care more affordable for patients, but it didn't make it to a full Senate vote. Reproductive health The big picture: Pritzker and the Democrat majority legislature have been instrumental in protecting access to reproductive health care in the state, and that continued with two pieces of legislation that passed. One will require all public colleges and universities to ensure students have access to contraception and abortion medication, and the other protects providers who prescribe abortion medication, even if the FDA revokes it.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois lawmakers pass $55.2 billion budget
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)- Illinois State Senators passed a $55 billion budget less than 2 hours after State Representatives sent it to them Saturday evening. Several events planned for Pride Month in Evansville The spending plan increased funding for safety net hospitals and federally qualified clinics in anticipation of cuts to Medicaid. The budget plan includes a $100 million budget reserve, which can be used by the governor during emergencies. The spending plan also cuts the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program. The program gave non-citizens between the ages of 42 and 64 access to state-sponsored health care. The budget also includes tax increases on cigarettes, vaping, and sports betting. The budget now heads to Governor Pritzker's desk, who says he will sign it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Politico
17 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
Pritzker's budget blame game: Trump
Presented by Happy June, Illinois. And congrats to the state legislators who powered through the weekend. TOP TALKER BUDGET BLUES: Gov. JB Pritzker praised state lawmakers Sunday morning for passing a balanced state budget and blamed a 'Trump Slump' for Illinois seeing $500 million in reduced revenues. 'Donald Trump's incomprehensible tariff policies have put a tax on our working families and dampened the nation's economic outlook, the Trump Slump is affecting every state, and the chaos and uncertainty of the Republicans proposed cuts to health care and education and jobs have made budgeting well harder than ever before,' Pritzker told reporters in a press briefing alongside Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and state Senate President Don Harmon. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch had a family commitment. Pritzker said the 'chaos' in D.C. is affecting other states, too. He pointed to Iowa and Indiana that once 'were bragging about their fiscal condition while laughing at ours. My, how times have changed.' We noted that last weel. The governor touted Illinois having nine credit upgrades and seven balanced budgets while 'Indiana's 10 percent budget deficit and Iowa's 5 percent budget deficit caused them to cut public health and higher education and dip into their rainy day fund.' It's sinful: In the end, the Democratic-led Illinois General Assembly approved a $55.2 billion spending plan and a $55.3 billion revenue package for the next fiscal year that also included a good share of sin taxes from online sports betting, to tobacco products, nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes. There's a lot that didn't get done: The transit bill to prevent a 'financial cliff' in the transportation industry failed to pass — there's talk now of returning to Springfield to address the problem. An energy bill that would protect the state's power grid didn't pass. And an omnibus bill to improve elections didn't pass. And a proposal to overhaul the state's Tier 2 pension system (which affects public employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2011) didn't make it over the finish line, either (though lawmakers did approve $75 million for a reserve fund for the program). Funding that was approved: $500 million for economic development and investment in site readiness grants to local governments for economic development; $200 million for early childhood workforce compensation grants and a $175 million increase for the Child Care Assistance Program to support 150,000 children. Here's a budget breakdown from the governor's office. By the numbers: 'They passed 432 bills during their five-month spring session, though perhaps none more important than the state's budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The nearly 3,400-page spending plan and other budget-related bills passed just minutes before midnight on Saturday — roughly 30 hours after the measure was introduced,' reports Brenden Moore in The Pantagraph. There was some careful praise about getting over the finish line: Jack Lavin, head of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, said his organization is 'pleased' that lawmakers passed an economic development package, 'which included incentives for manufacturers, capital investment programs and business recruitment.' Republicans could only roll their eyes: State Sen. Terri Bryant echoed her GOP colleagues, calling the budget 'irresponsible, unsustainable and wrong for Illinois.' Republicans also criticized Democrats for 'ramming' the budget through in the last hours of the session. RELATED Among bills going to governor's desk: A measure designed to rein in the practices of pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, law-enforcement background checks and legal help for immigrants, via the Tribune Chicago public transit in limbo after state lawmakers fail to fill nearly $1B budget gap, by the Block Club's Charles Thrush and Manny Ramos Illinois Senate leaves without taking a vote on plan to let terminally ill people end their own lives, by the Sun-Times' George Wiebe Bears' stadium efforts run out of time in Springfield but state Rep. Mary Beth Canty says deal was close and talks will continue, by the Tribune's Olivia Olander It's the latest tough snap for Bears president Kevin Warren, by the Sun-Times' Mitchell Armentrout and George Wiebe For mentally ill people facing low-level charges, lawmakers take steps to get them care, not prosecution, by the Sun-Times' Frank Main and Stephanie Zimmermann Three-point seat belts to be required on new school buses in Illinois, by the Daily Herald's Russell Lissau If you are Don Harmon, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@ WHERE'S JB No official public events WHERE's BRANDON At Daley Plaza at 9 a.m. for the annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony — At the Southwest Pumping Station for a Chicago Grand Prairie Water Commission water project announcement Where's Toni At Daley Plaza at 9 a.m. for the annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or a complaint? Email skapos@ BUSINESS OF POLITICS — WHAT's NEXT: Now that the legislative session has wrapped up, watch for the governor to pivot his attention to the upcoming federal hearing in Washington, D.C., on June 12 about Illinois' sanctuary status. After that, Pritzker is expected to announce whether he'll seek a third term, timing it, likely, with the Cook County Democratic Party slating on July 17 and 18. — Endorsement: State Sen. Robert Peters has been endorsed in his bid for Congress in the 2nd District by the Amalgamated Transit Union, which includes Chicago Locals 241 and 308. — Dueling rallies at Huntley's Trump & Truth Store as owner vows to stay open, by the Tribune's Shanzeh Ahmad THE STATEWIDES — Feds say Michael Madigan should get 12½ years in prison: 'Madigan wielded the speaker's gavel in Springfield for 36 years. Now he's bracing to learn his fate June 13, when he's due to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Blakey. The hearing comes four months after a jury convicted Madigan in an historic verdict,' by the Sun-Times' Jon Seidel. — A Madigan elegy: Mac Hoffmann, who was a staff attorney under former Speaker Madigan from 2015 to 2016, is now a singer-songwriter based in Minneapolis. He's out with an acoustic piece about Madigan titled, 'The Fall of the Velvet Hammer.' In a note to Playbook, Hofmann says, 'It's not a takedown. It's a reckoning—a meditation on what it meant to serve a system that no longer made sense. The timing aligns with Madigan's sentencing, but the story behind it has been unfolding for nearly a decade.' Sample lyric: 'The cleanest guy in the Capitol is the janitor mopping the floor.' Listen here. — Springfield's historic Myers Building officially sold, by the State Journal-Register's Claire Grant — Fake IDs now as good as the real thing — and essential to Chicago's college social scene, by the Sun-Times' Mary Norkol TAKING NAMES — HATS OFF: Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller's annual Hats Off to South Suburban Women Luncheon drew a crowd of 300 Sunday at Ravisloe Country Club. Spotted: Congresswoman Robin Kelly, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago Ald. Stephanie Coleman, Sauk Village Mayor Marva Campbell-Pruitt, Richton Park Mayor Rick Reinbold, Homewood Village Trustee Vivian Harris-Jones, Homewood Village Clerk Nakina Flores, East Hazel Crest Trustee Maureen Moe Forté, Appellate Judge Sharon Johnson, Rich Township Clerk Sugar Al-Amin, Matteson Trustee Carolyn Palmer, Calumet City Ald. Monet Forte Wilson, District Police Commander Karla Johnson and school Superintendent Blondean Davis. — Dulana Reese-Campbell has been elected board president of the Young Democrats of Chicago. Reese-Campbell is chief of staff to state Rep. Kam Buckner. Other officers: Jackie Duarte, Lindy Girman, Tyler Harding, Taylor Coward, Evelyn Wilder, Arthur Dennis, George Haines and Brian Frederick. Reader Digest We asked about impactful protest movements. Michael Churchill: 'Vietnam War protests.' Michael Burton: 'The eight-hour day movement, centered in Chicago in the 1880s, gave us the weekend by reducing the typical workweek from six days and 70+ hours to our current 40-hour work week.' Ted Cox: 'Occupy Wall Street, #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. They may not have the momentum right now, but they're not done by any means.' Sean Duffy: 'The 1917 February Revolution in Russia forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate his throne and ended 300 years of rule by the Romanov dynasty.' Robert Fioretti: ' April 15, 1970, when an anti-war moratorium demonstration on tax day was held at Daley Plaza. More than 40,000 attended, and many there are still protesting today.' Daniel Goldwin: 'Free Soviet Jewry protest movement.' Charles Keller: 'On Oct. 31, 1517, Luther sent a letter with the 95 Theses to the Archbishop of Mainz, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.' Jim Lyons: 'The anti-war movement at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.' James Scalzitti: 'ACT-UP.' Emily Spangler: 'The Stonewall Movement. Stonewall is one of many reasons we LGBT people are recognized and protected in society.' NEXT QUESTION: What's a national holiday you'd like to see created? KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION — China happy with restrictions on its students, Krishnamoorthi says: 'They want these people back,' said U.S. Senate candidate and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on 'Face the Nation.' 'They want the scientists and the entrepreneurs and the engineers who can come and help their economy. And so we are probably helping them, as well as other countries, more than helping ourselves with this policy.' THE NATIONAL TAKE — The 'Medicaid moderates' are the senators to watch on the megabill, by POLITICO's Jordain Carney — Liz Magill, the first casualty in the war against elite universities, by POLITICO's Evan Mandery — DHS removes list of 'sanctuary' cities after sheriffs push back on non-compliant label, by Reuters' Ted Hesson — Chris Christie says Trump is giving free rein to white-collar criminals, by POLITICO's David Cohen — 'Completely unworkable': Sculpture experts say Trump's $34M statue garden has major problems, by POLITICO's Michael Schaffer TRANSITIONS — Jim Webb has started J Webb Strategies, a communications and crisis management business. He was director of operations at Serafin & Associates before it merged last year with Mercury Public Affairs. Webb also previously had a long career as a journalist for The Associated Press and was political editor at the Chicago Tribune. — Channyn Lynne Parker becomes interim CEO of Equality Illinois starting July 1. An Equality Illinois board member, Parker will serve in the post part-time while continuing in her full-time position as CEO of Brave Space Alliance, which serves LGBTQ+ individuals. Earlier this year, Brian Johnson announced he's stepping down as Equality Illinois CEO on June 30, via Windy City Times' Jake Wittich. — Alison Pure-Slovin has been named director of social action and partnerships for Simon Wiesenthal Center's Midwest office. She has been head of the organization's Midwest office since 2012. IN MEMORIAM — Richard Garwin, Chicago physicist who created the hydrogen bomb and worked to see it wasn't used, dead at 97, by the Sun-Times' Mitch Dudek EVENTS — Tuesday: State Rep. Kam Buckner is holding his Buckner Blues Bash. Details here — Saturday and Sunday: The Fort de Chartres Rendezvous, an annual tradition in Randolph County, takes place at the Fort de Chartres State Historic Site. Details here TRIVIA FRIDAY's ANSWER: Congrats to Ron Silver for correctly answering that Chicago's Monadnock Building is the tallest load-bearing brick building ever constructed. TODAY's QUESTION: Which boxing champion lost to Muhammad Ali and later ran for Chicago alderman? Email skapos@ HAPPY BIRTHDAY Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, business consultant Sonya Jackson, attorney Pejman Yousefzadeh, Kieloch Consulting Congressional Services Director Hannah Botelho, labor insider and lobbyist Alison Howlett, Tribune columnist Clarence Page, comms adviser Lauren Pulte and Dave Neal, legal chief for the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, who turns 70 -30-
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
After lawmakers pass budget with cuts and tax hikes, Gov. JB Pritzker blames state's fiscal challenges on Trump
SPRINGFIELD — While offering a sunny take on the passage of a roughly $55 billion state spending plan balanced in part by cutting back on some of his own priorities, Gov. JB Pritzker on Sunday blamed Illinois' latest fiscal challenges not on a state tax system he once described as 'unfair' and 'inadequate' but on economic headwinds created by President Donald Trump. 'This year has been hard across the entire Midwest — indeed, the entire country,' Pritzker told reporters in his state Capitol office, nodding to cuts in areas such as public health and higher education in neighboring red states Indiana and Iowa. 'Donald Trump's incomprehensible tariff policies have put a tax on our working families and dampened the nation's economic outlook,' he said. 'The Trump slump is affecting every state, and the chaos and uncertainty of the Republicans' proposed cuts to health care and education and jobs have made budgeting, well, harder than ever before.' The spending plan, which was passed by lawmakers on Saturday shortly before a midnight deadline and awaits Pritzker's signature before the state's fiscal year begins July 1, makes nearly $400 million in spending cuts, including $193 million in operational cuts across state agencies, beyond what Pritzker proposed in February, according to budget negotiators. It also relies on increased taxes on tobacco products, online sportsbooks, and overseas and out-of-state corporate earnings as well as one-time revenue measures, which together total more than $800 million. Pritzker's efforts to blame Trump for Illinois' latest budget woes and contrast the state's spending decisions with those of neighboring Republican-led states came at the end of a spring legislative session during which the governor continued efforts to raise his national profile. His relentless criticisms of Trump — particularly in a fiery speech to New Hampshire Democrats and appearances on cable news, late-night TV and podcasts — have stood in contrast to the softer tone employed by some other prominent Democratic governors and further fueled speculation Pritzker is eyeing a White House run in 2028. Before that, however, the billionaire Hyatt Hotels heir must officially decide whether to run next year for a third term as governor. It's widely expected he will, though he didn't answer when asked about it as he departed his Sunday morning news conference. Pritzker's reluctance to embrace a more comprehensive approach to overhauling the tax system after his failed effort to amend the state constitution in 2020 to allow for higher rates on larger incomes suggests a wariness about giving credence to political opponents eager to brand him as a tax-raiser. Indeed, the governor vowed to use his veto pen this year if lawmakers sent him a spending plan that relied on 'broad-based' increases to sales or income taxes. Pritzker's hesitancy over taxes extended to the unresolved debate about how to overhaul governance and increase funding for Chicago-area mass transit systems facing a looming fiscal cliff of more than $771 million. While echoing the need for changes to the disjointed board structure of the city and suburban bus and train systems, the governor hasn't publicly endorsed a funding plan, and legislators left town without sending one to him. As for the state's longer-term financial picture, the kind of deeper cuts Republicans espouse are anathema to Pritzker and the legislature's Democratic supermajority. But rather than expending political capital on broader revenue-generating efforts such as a renewed push for a graduated-rate income tax or an attempt to expand the sales tax to cover more services, both common practices in other states, Pritzker's answer on Sunday for state budget stability is 'more stability out of Washington, D.C.' 'We would not have suffered this problem had we not had the Trump slump affecting us,' Pritzker said. 'There are $500 million of reduced revenues to the state of Illinois as a result of what Donald Trump has done to a booming economy.' Throughout the closing days of the legislative session, which adjourned in the early morning hours Sunday, Democrats repeatedly pointed the finger at Trump and congressional Republicans for the difficulties the General Assembly faced in crafting the upcoming year's budget. Presenting the spending plan on the House floor late Saturday, Majority Leader Robyn Gabel of Evanston said a big reason for many of the proposed cuts was the uncertainty over whether the Trump administration would deprive Illinois of critical federal funding for Medicaid and in other areas. 'I want to emphasize that these were not decisions made lightly or made hastily. These are strategic efficiencies so we can invest in the needs of our working families and seniors on fixed incomes,' Gabel said. 'Of course, we do not know the full extent of the cuts Washington is preparing. But we do anticipate that health care access and infrastructure will be most directly impacted.' Democrats cut back on the $350 million annual increase in school funding required under a 2017 state law, withholding $43 million that normally would go to a grant program designed to help school districts with high property tax rates and low real estate values. They characterized the move as a pause to allow for a study of whether the program is working as intended. The overall spending plan followed Pritzker's recommendation to pause one of his key priorities: a $75 million annual increase to boost the number of seats in state-funded preschool programs. The budget would keep the spending level with the current year. The budget also cuts back on another Pritzker priority, suspending monthly contributions to the state's 'rainy day' fund for a year. Instead, about $45 million would be held in the general fund, which pays for day-to-day operations. Funding for a program that provides Medicaid-style health insurance for noncitizens ages 42 to 64 also was zeroed out, a savings the governor's office estimated at $330 million, though the budget includes $110 million to continue coverage for those 65 and older. During the House debate, Rep. Dagmara Avelar, a Democrat from Bolingbrook and member of the legislative Latino Caucus, said she was supporting the overall spending plan even though it was 'not a perfect budget.' 'In fact, it's painful. It eliminates a program that has been a lifeline for many, including people that I have fought alongside for years,' she said. 'But I'm voting 'yes' because leadership requires hard choices. And this budget protects more than it cuts.' To that end, the budget includes an 80-cent-per-hour wage increase for direct support professionals who work with people with developmental disabilities. But it reduces the hours the state would pay for by 35%, which Gabel, the House majority leader, characterized as 'rightsizing.' Advocates and unions have said wages needed to be raised by $2 an hour to meet recommendations that those workers be paid 150% of minimum wage. At a Senate committee hearing on the plan Saturday afternoon, Sen. Chapin Rose of Mahomet, a GOP budget negotiator, called the reduction in hours a 'cynical sleight of hand.' Safety-net hospitals serving low-income patients and communities are set to receive $118 million in grant funding, less than the roughly $160 million some lawmakers were hoping for. The Monetary Award Program, which provides grants to lower-income college students, will see a $10 million boost to a total of nearly $722 million. The budget also will devote $75 million to help ensure pensions for newer state employees meet a federal requirement to be on par with Social Security benefits, and it sets aside $100 million for a 'bridge fund' to cover unexpected shortfalls in the coming year. Despite the fiscal challenges, the Democratic plan includes $8.2 billion in new spending on infrastructure projects, which are separate from the operating budget and funded by dedicated taxes and borrowing. Republicans accused the majority party of once again hoarding that money for projects in their own districts. 'Let's hide this stuff. Let's hide it so that the public doesn't see it until it's too late. Let's blame everybody but ourselves. The Trump administration did this. The Trump administration did that. I call BS,' GOP Rep. John Cabello of Machesney Park, who was a Trump delegate during last year's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, said during the House debate late Saturday. Cabello also said Republicans weren't given a chance to fund projects on behalf of taxpayers in their districts. On the revenue side, a tax amnesty program that would allow delinquent filers to pay off their tax debt without penalties is expected to generate $228 million in one-time money for the state. The plan also includes a set of tax law changes that would give the state the ability to tax more offshore and out-of-state corporate income. Taken together, those changes would bring in an estimated $336 million in ongoing revenue. Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi of Chicago, a House budget negotiator and member of the progressive caucus, said the budget will be balanced, in part, with 'revenues paid for by the biggest and most profitable corporations that do business in Illinois, who can afford to pay a little bit more to help us fund the operations of our state, closing loopholes and going after financial tactics that those companies use to avoid paying what they should.' There's also a new per-wager tax on online sportsbooks, expected to generate $36 million in the coming year. Taxes will go up on tobacco from the current rate of 36% of wholesale price for cigarettes and 15% for vaping products to 45% across the board, including nicotine pouches, which have exploded in popularity in recent years. The $50 million in anticipated revenue would go to tobacco cessation efforts and the state's Medicaid program. Republicans criticized the use of one-time revenue streams to fill shortfalls, including the diversion of money from road projects by again delaying a shift of revenue from the sales tax on gasoline from the state's general fund to the road fund, freeing up $171 million to spend on operations. Pritzker defended the practice, saying Democrats crafting the budget tried to ensure 'any one-time revenues … really matched up with or … were diminishing of the one-time expenditures that we have to make.' Even without a substantial overhaul of the state's income or sales taxes, Pritzker said, the state has 'gotten really much closer than ever before' to erasing a structural budget deficit his administration pegged at $3.2 billion shortly after he took office in 2019. Still, some other Democrats, especially members of the party's progressive wing, believe there needs to be a deeper look at how services for residents across the state are funded, particularly given the uncertain economic times. Guzzardi, the House budget negotiator, was a co-sponsor of legislation that put the graduated income tax question on the 2020 ballot and 'fought really hard' in the unsuccessful campaign for its passage. 'I still think it's the kind of change that our state is going to need, the systemic change to our tax structure, to ease the burden on working families and to generate the revenue we need to fund vital services by asking the folks at the top to pay,' Guzzardi said Sunday. 'We have to make a more convincing case to the voters, that much is really clear.' More immediately, though, lawmakers are under pressure to address the dire financial situation facing Chicago-area mass transit with the impending expiration of federal coronavirus relief money. In the closing hours of the spring session, Senate Democrats introduced and passed a plan to address mass transit governance and funding, including a new $1.50 fee on retail deliveries. Sen. Ram Villivalam, a Chicago Democrat and point person on transit issues, called the plan 'unprecedented' and said it would create 'the world-class, safe, reliable, accessible, integrated public transit system we need for our northeastern Illinois region.' But key House Democrats said their chamber didn't take up the Senate proposal before adjourning for the spring because they wanted to focus first on overhauling the way the various transit agencies operate before allocating taxpayer money to those changes. 'I would say that the commitment has always been to do reform first. And then talk about doing revenue,' Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, a Chicago Democrat, said. 'We worked really hard along with the Senate on putting together that reform. Unfortunately, we had different approaches to how to get that across the finish line.' Rep. Kam Buckner, another Chicago Democrat involved in transit negotiations, said it would've been 'irresponsible' for House members to vote on the Senate plan without being thoroughly familiar with its funding proposal. The measure came over from the Senate after midnight Sunday, when the threshold to pass legislation taking effect before June 2026 increased from a simple majority to three-fifths. That didn't allow enough time for House Democrats to review the proposed tax and round up the votes needed to pass it, Buckner said. Pritzker likewise said Sunday that he hadn't had much time to review the delivery tax proposal, which was met with stiff opposition from business groups and others. 'I obviously want to make sure we're lowering, not raising, taxes whenever we can,' the governor said, adding that he looks forward to reviewing future proposals in the coming months. It's important for there to be 'significant work that'll need to be done over the summer and in the fall' on governance and funding the Chicago-area and downstate transit systems, Pritzker said.
