(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – In signing a budget for the fiscal year which begins July 1, Gov. JB Pritzker (pictured, at lectern) Tuesday talked about Republicans.
Not mentioning predecessor Bruce Rauner by name, Pritzker said, “Seven and a half years ago, our state faced an entirely different reality: we inherited budget turmoil, a mountain of unpaid bills. a hollowed-out state government, and a state credit rating that had been downgraded 21 times in a row in the last quarter century.”
A news release from State Rep. Mike Coffey (R-Springfield) said the $55.9 billion budget is bigger than ever, yet life remains less affordable than ever for Illinoisans. Pritzker pointed out in his administration federal spending has grown at a greater rate than has state spending.
Pritzker also compared his record of taking care of people with President Donald Trump’s priorities: the brutality of ICE and staging UFC matches on the White House lawn.
Answering an unrelated question about the Chicago Bears’ quest for a new stadium, Pritzker said, “What we need is for the Bears to focus on what it is they want. They have not been clear about, what is the bill that they need?” The 2026 spring session saw each chamber ignore bills the other chamber had passed, leading the football team to “advance” on Hammond, Ind., as the site for a new stadium. The team has not expressly said it plans to leave Illinois.
