SPRINGFIELD, IL… State Representative Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) made the below statement in a press conference discussing the Governor’s State of the State and Budget Address that was delivered in a joint session.
“The budget the governor presented today will spend over $55 billion, an increase of $2 billion over the previous year—an increase of nearly 40% in state spending since the governor took office six years ago. The proposed budget is filled with pretend cuts, aspirational revenue estimates and budget gimmickry. History would indicate this governor and his supermajority in both chambers have never shown fiscal restraint, nor have they been willing to cut inefficient or underperforming programs.
“The governor has a constitutional obligation to present and sign a balanced budget—but recent history tells a different story. Just last spring, in the final hours of the legislative session, Democrats pushed through an unbalanced budget, only to change the rules at 3 a.m. to pass a $1.2 billion tax hike on an unprecedented third vote.
“Make no mistake—this budget is a smoke-and-mirrors scheme designed to justify yet another tax hike on hardworking Illinoisans, further cementing the Democratic agenda that is making Illinois politically uninhabitable. This budget spends more than the previous year while continuing to expand programs that fund illegal aliens. Meanwhile, Illinois continues to lose employers and residents.
“There is no property tax relief. No regulatory relief. No meaningful support for Illinois families. Again, if history is any guide, Democrats will once again vote to spend more of your hard-earned money while refusing to pass any legislation that cuts taxes or eases financial burdens on working families struggling under the worst inflation in over 40 years.
“The governor mocked his critics, calling them “backseat bellyachers” peddling “magic bean solutions”—yet his own budget and vision for the state are built on nothing but magic beans. My question to the governor is simple: What kind of fertilizer are you using to grow such enormous “magic beans”?”