POMONA – State Rep. Paul Jacobs is sounding off following Governor JB Pritzker’s combined Budget and State of the State Address on Wednesday. Jacobs says Pritzker’s budget proposal spends more than the state will take in, making future budget deficits and tax hikes a near certainty.
“The Governor proposed a budget today that actually spends more money than we’re taking in, which in the long-run will mean bigger deficits and higher taxes for hard working families. I’m asking my friends on the other side of the aisle to govern in reality, hold the line on spending and taxes, and do the real work of going through the budget line by line. I believe in zero based budgets, where every dollar of spending is justified. Increasing state government spending will mean higher taxes in the future, and that will be especially painful when one-time revenues from COVID-19 relief dollars are no longer pouring into the state. We won’t be getting $8.1 billion in Federal gift money, and we can’t afford to raise spending by $2.5 billion dollars when actual revenues are dropping by $460 million. I believe in fiscal responsibility, and the spending spree proposed by the Governor today is the opposite of responsible.”