Following Gov. Pritzker’s joint State of the State and Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Address, Deputy House Republican Leader Ryan Spain (R-73rd District) released the following statement:
“For a Governor who is perpetually trying to sell himself as a friend of business development and job creation, the budget he proposed today runs completely contrary to that notion. Instead of focusing on his future presidential ambitions and competing with California for the title of most progressive state in the nation, I wish we could get serious about growing Illinois’ economy.
“His proposal includes $2.29 billion in additional spending, a 4.5 percent increase, which would leave us with a $775 million deficit. How does he propose to solve his deficit problem? By raising another billion dollars in taxes on job creators and cutting tax deductions for working-class families. We’ve already spent $2.8 billion on healthcare for non-citizens, and he wants to spend another $811 million instead of admitting his sanctuary state policy has hurt our state and is taking money away from vulnerable Illinoisans who should be our first priority.
“One of the few positives I heard from the Governor today was his embrace of a plan I’ve been pushing for years to eliminate the grocery tax. Unfortunately, that is a small consolation in relation to everything else I heard today.
“Illinois has lost population for ten years in a row, and we face the second highest property tax burden in the nation. Putting more pressure on families and small businesses under his proposal is only going to drive more people away. We should be providing tax relief, not asking Illinoisans to pay more.”