Are Illinoisans better off with the new 2023 budget?
Is the promised tax relief real or just a short-term gimmick? Does the state’s record spending set Illinoisans up for bigger tax hikes in the future? Will the results of the budget convince fewer Illinoisans to flee?
The answers to those kitchen-table questions matter. Especially since many politicians are celebrating the budget as “responsible” and “historic,” a “win for the middle class” and more. Gov. J.B. Pritzker went even further, tweeting “we are in our strongest financial position in decades.”
That’s all political spin. As usual, lawmakers included no pension reform, no regulatory relief, no rollback in public union powers and no promised property tax reform.
Illinois is still headed in the wrong direction.
That’s why we’ve put together a quick bullet-point summary of the 2023 budget facts that really matter. (For the full rundown, check out the entire piece: “Nine things Gov. Pritzker didn’t tell you about Illinois’ 2023 budget)” at wirepoints.org.
1. Illinois is still the nation’s fiscal basket case, with the worst credit rating (think credit score) in the country, by far. Only fellow basket-case New Jersey comes close – and it’s two notches better than Illinois.
2. Illinois is far from being in its “strongest financial position in decades.” Illinois still needs 19 more credit upgrades just to get its rating back to where it was in 2009.
3. Illinois’ unreformed pension crisis is still the nation’s worst. There have been zero reforms and Illinoisans are still stuck with the country’s biggest pension debts. That can only mean one thing – more tax hikes.
4. Illinoisans should credit the nearly-$200 billion federal bailout, not Gov. Pritzker’s actions, for Illinois’ “improved” 2023 budget. It’s those dollars that increased the state’s revenue, papered over budget holes, led to credit upgrades and helped pay down the state’s bills.
5. Gov. Pritzker hasn’t reformed anything. Instead, he’s only increased the cost of government. We’ve laid out the list, from more pension spiking to more union strike powers.
6. Lawmakers’ additions to the 2022 budget pushed it above $49 billion, the biggest Illinois has ever had. The billions in extra revenues could have jump-started structural reforms. Instead, lawmakers spent the money on pork projects and tax gimmicks.
7. The budget’s $1.8 billion in tax “relief” items are temporary gimmicks and useless thanks to 40-year-high inflation. It’s not the structural tax relief Illinoisans need and deserve.
8. The budget increases K-12 education spending even though Illinois already spends the nation’s 8th-most on education. Illinois has already increased per student spending by more over the last decade than any other state in the country.
9. Lawmakers gave themselves a $2,700 raise in the budget. Nevermind Illinois’ continued bottom-of-the-barrel performance. Now lawmakers are the 4th-highest paid in the nation.