Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The directors of Illinois’ state agencies are responding to Gov. JB Pritzker’s call to identify four percent of their budgets – in the current fiscal year – to place in reserve. The Pritzker administration announced $482 million in potential cuts Thursday.
The governor’s directive is in response to uncertainty over how much money the federal government will or will not give Illinois. “Those were the right things to do, mainly because this White House is extremely chaotic. It’s extremely unstable, and we don’t know what they are going to do day-to-day,” said State Rep. Kam Buckner (pictured, right) (D-Chicago), “but we have to be a stabilizing force and protect the people of this state. Those measures of today will make tomorrow easier.”
His comments come a day after House Republicans, in a news conference, admonished supermajority Democrats to “stop blaming Trump.”
Buckner, the House Democrats’ point man on the state budget, said, “We’re not blaming anybody. What we are doing is doing what our job is, and that’s being a stabilizing force for the people of Illinois. What the House Republicans should probably start doing is putting forth a plan to also help their constituents instead of just pointing fingers.”
The lion’s share of the cuts – 75 percent – come from healthcare and human services. None are from pensions or K-12 education.
