Republican state House candidate Jillian Rose Bernas of Schaumburg called out her opponent, Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-56), for showing extreme fiscal irresponsibility in voting in favor of an Illinois budget that was reportedly $7 billion in the red.
“This $7 billion out-of-balance budget mocks all of the hard-working families in my district and in the state,” Bernas said. “This is just another example of Michelle Mussman mindlessly following her leader, (House Speaker) Mike Madigan."
The bill, which was an amendment to Senate Bill 2048, was 500 pages long and legislators had to make a vote within just 90 minutes.
"There is simply no way (Mussman) had time to read a 500-page budget in two hours," Bernas said. "This budget completely ignores the problems that our state is facing."
Madigan led a caucus of fellow Democrats in passing the proposed budget that calls for $40 billion in spending and only an estimated $33 billion in revenues. Gov. Bruce Rauner promised to veto the bill, which subsequently did not pass the Senate.
"In addition to forcing a 47 percent tax hike on Illinois families, (the proposed budget) will increase the unpaid backlog by $15 billion," Bernas said. "I want a truly balanced budget that reflects the values of our community. We value education, compassion for our neighbors and the opportunity to pursue our dreams. We can get that done in Springfield, but we need lawmakers that have an independent voice and are willing to make the tough decisions needed to fix Illinois. Michelle Mussman’s vote ... for the most unbalanced budget in Illinois history shows us that she is not that voice.”
Although a stopgap budget has been passed to fund necessities, the General Assembly has still failed to pass a long-term, balanced budget as required by the state constitution in nearly two years.
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