Published on June 1, 2026 10:25 am
Last Updated on June 1, 2026 10:28 am
St. Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) speaks on the House floor (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
Here’s reaction from legislators who represent portions of Effingham County to passage of the state budget for the coming fiscal year:
State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) :
“In eight years of Governor J.B. Pritzker, he has increased state spending by over $16 billion – a 40% increase. Most families in my district haven’t seen anything close to a 40% increase in their paychecks. In fact, Illinois take-home pay for the average Illinoisian has only grown 6.2%. So, the question is simple: under Gov Pritzker’s massive spending increase, what are Illinois families getting in return? They’re paying roughly $1,700 more per family in taxes and living with among the highest property taxes in the country. And now we’re told taxpayers should be grateful because Springfield is giving them a penny back on their gas tax. A penny? They don’t even make pennies anymore. Worse, roughly $150 million from the sales tax on gasoline is now going to be diverted to cover health care and ‘welcome centers’ for illegal immigrants. If lawmakers and the Governor want to provide real relief for the people of Illinois, we should suspend the sales tax on gasoline – as we Republicans have proposed. That would be real relief.
“On K-12 overall funding for many school districts is starting to drop off due to Governor Pritzker’s cuts to reimbursements for things like schools buses and special ed tuition – exacerbating property taxes increases on local families. Speaking of our developmentally disabled friends and neighbors, despite having increased spending by $16 billion, not one time in his 8 budgets now has Governor Pritzker been able to get funding to direct care workers for the developmentally disabled back to the same percentage as when he took came into office. Instead, Illinois families continue to get squeezed from every direction. They pay more at the pump, more in taxes, and now they’re facing some of the highest electricity bills we’ve ever seen. That’s right, during Gov. Pritzker’s 8 years in office, he negotiated, and signed into law, not one, but two different pieces of legislation that directly raised power bills on countless Illinoisans by requiring residential ratepayers to subsidize the profits of giant corporate utilities.
“After eight years of Governor Pritzker, the pattern is clear: out-of-control spending, 40-plus new taxes, higher utility bills, and massively higher property taxes. Illinois families can’t afford more of the same. Simply put, we can’t afford J.B. Pritzker.”
St. Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville):
“This is the same old story as it is every year: Democrats wait until the last minute to pass major legislation while hiding behind the cover of night. Illinois families, businesses, and communities are absolutely tapped out and cannot afford the nearly $1 billion in new taxes and fees included in the FY2027 budget.”
Halbrook continued by commenting on his concerns with the approximately $410 million included in the budget for illegal immigrants, which includes $40 million for Illegal Immigrant welcoming centers.
“Despite President Trump’s accomplishments securing the border, Governor Pritzker and Illinois Democrat Lawmakers are still showing more concern for illegal immigrants than they do for actual Illinois taxpayers.”
“This Spring I was aligned with an increasing number of lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, who were concerned with the failing Commission on Equity and Inclusion. Despite the echoes of bi-partisan concerns, legislative leadership included $5.6 million of dollars to the commission, despite the lack of results and transparency.”
St. Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich):
“It’s become crystal clear that Governor Pritzker does not care about Illinois taxpayers. Year after year, he signs budgets that spend more, tax more, and asks working families and job creators to
carry an even heavier burden. Since taking office, Governor Pritzker has overseen the largest budgets, the highest spending, and some of the highest tax burdens in the nation. I voted no.”
St. Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield):
“After 8 years of Governor Pritzker, what do the people of Illinois have to show for it? We have near-record high electricity prices, the highest unemployment in the Midwest, our economy is lagging our neighbors in nearly every single metric, and we have one of the highest overall tax burdens in the country.
“The people of Illinois deserve relief. Instead, they got a budget passed in the middle of the night with very little transparency. But, what the budget lacks in transparency, it more than makes up for in new taxes and fees. Many people in our state can no longer afford to live here, and this budget makes that problem worse.”
St. Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City):
“This state is addicted to spending money it doesn’t have. It’s addicted to creating programs that it can’t afford. It’s addicted to making promises it can’t keep, and it’s addicted to coming back to the taxpayers constantly, constantly to clean up the mess.”
St. Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville):
“Eight years under Governor Pritzker have given Illinois families a bigger government, higher costs, and fewer reasons to stay.
“This is Pritzker’s eighth budget, and to the shock of no one, his record has not changed. Spending is up more than 40 percent, which is more than $16 billion in new spending. Illinois families are buried under the highest tax burden in the nation, and taxpayers are once again being asked to pay more for the same failed results.
“Meanwhile, Illinois continues to fall behind. We have one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, our economic growth is significantly lagging behind our neighbors, and census numbers prove families and businesses are fleeing the state in droves because they cannot afford the cost of doing business or raising a family in Illinois.
“Yet, here we are again. This budget was negotiated behind closed doors and dropped in the final hours of session, leaving legislators and the public no time to review it. That is not transparency. That is not good government. That is Springfield Democrats, led by J.B. Pritzker, hiding the details until the last possible moment and hoping taxpayers do not notice the cost.
“After eight years of bleeding taxpayers, Governor Pritzker wants to call this progress. It is not. But Illinois families know better. They are cutting back, making sacrifices, and wondering why state government never seems to do the same.
“This budget is not relief. It is Pritzker’s bill for eight years of continued failure.”
