EDWARDSVILLE — State Senator Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) issued the following statement after Democrat lawmakers passed a $56 billion budget that includes over $800 million in new taxes, fees, and revenue enhancements:
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“Eight years under Governor Pritzker have given Illinois families a bigger government, higher costs, and fewer reasons to stay.
“This is Pritzker’s eighth budget, and to the shock of no one, his record has not changed. Spending is up more than 40 percent, which is more than $16 billion in new spending. Illinois families are buried under the highest tax burden in the nation, and taxpayers are once again being asked to pay more for the same failed results.
“Meanwhile, Illinois continues to fall behind. We have one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, our economic growth is significantly lagging behind our neighbors, and census numbers prove families and businesses are fleeing the state in droves because they cannot afford the cost of doing business or raising a family in Illinois.
“Yet, here we are again. This budget was negotiated behind closed doors and dropped in the final hours of session, leaving legislators and the public no time to review it. That is not transparency. That is not good government. That is Springfield Democrats, led by J.B. Pritzker, hiding the details until the last possible moment and hoping taxpayers do not notice the cost.
“After eight years of bleeding taxpayers, Governor Pritzker wants to call this progress. It is not. But Illinois families know better. They are cutting back, making sacrifices, and wondering why state government never seems to do the same.
“This budget is not relief. It is Pritzker’s bill for eight years of continued failure.”
