SPRINGFIELD – As the legislative session drew to a close early Saturday morning, State Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) issued the following statement regarding the passage of a $46 billion FY 2023 budget.
“Eager to get back home to their districts to campaign ahead of the June Primary, Democrats went it alone on the FY 2023 budget, passing a 3500 page bill in the matter of a few hours that spends $46 billion, raises legislators’ pay, and leaves a large chunk of unemployment insurance debt unpaid. This is the end of my first series of regular Sessions as a Freshman lawmaker. What I’ve seen so far is Democrats failing to work across the aisle to provide permanent tax relief to Illinois citizens and spending money as fast as they can in as big of amounts as they can on pork projects while ignoring some long-term financial problems that loom on the horizon. The Democrats are working overtime to cover the tracks of their decades of financial mismanagement by offering one-time gimmicks and half-measures to Illinoisans that pay the highest combined tax rates in the country. We owe the people better than pay raises for politicians and $1 billion in pork projects for Democrats.”
House and Senate Democrats earned zero Republican votes for the plan that passed the House of Representatives around 6:00 A.M. on Saturday morning after a marathon day had lawmakers in Session for more than 19 hours.
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