Governor J.B. Pritzker’s government spending plan, which relies on $1 billion in tax increases, officially became the largest budget in state history when he signed it into law on June 5.

Despite bipartisan opposition, the controversial budget sets a new high-water mark for government spending, surpassing $53 billion. This eye-popping total represents a surge of almost $13 billion, or 32% since Pritzker took office.

This significant increase in government spending during Pritzker’s tenure has been fueled by one-time COVID relief funds and unexpectedly high state revenues. Despite warnings from Senate Republican lawmakers to exercise caution with these temporary funds, Pritzker and his allies in the legislature created new programs and permanently increased government spending.

Now that the federal money has run out, the Governor is raising taxes by almost $1 billion to fill the gap and fund around $1 billion in yearly spending on programs for non-citizens, including top-tier healthcare. 

While non-citizen spending continues to skyrocket, the new budget falls short for members of the developmentally disabled community, K-12 and college students, and taxpayers who bear the brunt of the costs.

Senate Republicans argued that a budget is a statement of priorities, and while the Governor’s FY25 budget is the largest in state history, it clearly doesn’t prioritize the people of Illinois.