SPRINGFIELD… State Representative Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) issued the following statement upon passage of a Democrats-only spending plan for Fiscal Year 2025, as lawmakers passed the annual budget well after midnight on Wednesday morning.
“Once again, the majority party in Springfield was busy splitting the proceeds of hard-earned taxpayer money on unnecessary spending initiatives, but taxpayers are starting to grow old of being used.
Illinois Democrats passed another unbalanced budget in the middle of the night without input from the public or General Assembly Republicans. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget is a whopping $2.6 billion more than last year’s enacted budget and includes pay raises for politicians and a staggering $1 billion for non-citizens.
“I voted no on this budget, along with every fellow House Republican, due to the massive $1 billion in tax hikes that Democrats call ‘revenue enhancements.’ Revenue enhancements is actually Demsplaining for tax increases. In addition, there are hundreds of millions of dollars of pork allocated for political distributions to Democrat legislative districts, but not for Republican districts, effectively initiating political redlining across Illinois.
“Illinois taxpayers are feeling used by the political leaders who are tone-deaf to the fiscal reality of our state. Bill Withers famously sang, ‘You can’t keep using these people because you’re gonna use them up.’
“Amongst the numerous new funding programs planned for the coming fiscal year, there appears to be more of an extreme focus on social engineering, instead of actual engineering. There are too many progressive Democrats interested in changing the culture and not the business climate in Illinois. Poor policies are creating a faltering business climate, an unpredictable safety climate, and an underperforming education climate – all of which are inhibiting Illinois’ ability to rebound.
“The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging it. We have far too many politicians denying what our state’s current problems are. It’s no wonder why businesses are choosing not to consider Illinois as their primary place to locate.
“Over the last four years, the Democrat-controlled General Assembly and Governor JB Pritzker have grown state expenditures by more than $13 billion. Our annual spending plan has grown from just under $40 billion in 2020 to more than $53 billion for the coming fiscal year.
“Is anyone’s life better? Are your taxes lower? Are our students performing better? Are your politicians being honest with you and transparent?
“Illinois Democrats have continued to demonstrate zero fiscal responsibility. Their desire to spend more and more money is only matched by their willingness to raise taxes to cover their out-of-control spending year after year. It is no wonder citizens and businesses are leaving our state. It is time to return to reasonable and bring real relief back to the people of Illinois.”