North Cook News

State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) recently responded to Gov. J.B Pritzker's budget proposal.

Pritzker recently delivered the annual State of the State and budget address. He touched on job creation, saying that since the "bottom of the pandemic recession in April 2020," the state has added 600,000 jobs and grown the state GDP, that Illinois job growth surpasses national job growth and that wages have increased. 

The state's financial situation is helped by federal money and increased state revenues, according to ABC7 News. The governor's budget calls for providing nearly $1 billion in one-time tax cuts including property tax rebates up of to $300 for about 2 million homeowners. For the next fiscal year, it suspends the grocery sales tax as well as the 2.2 cent gasoline tax hike. It also suspends licensing fees for health care professionals as well as for bars and restaurants.

"Our recovery is happening because our people have an unmatched work ethic and our employers an incredible commitment to workers and the communities they serve. It’s also happening because we’ve focused on providing as much stability as possible for small businesses and workers and families here in Illinois," Pritzker said in his address.

Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) was skeptical of Pritzker's budget proposal and voiced her opinion in a video she posted on Facebook, saying "a real balanced budget doesn't need a federal bailout."

"Illinois needs real-world structural reform," Mazzochi said. "The governor's signature proposal in this area, the constitutional tax amendment, when he put that to the entire state, we voted 'no' because we know better than to take the governor at his word. So ultimately, let's be honest.  Governor, don't paint a rosy state of the state that people can see right through."

"Don't pander to your political activist class whose ideas aren't working nationally and aren't working locally. Instead focus on government 101. Government 101 means you apply common sense to keep your streets safe and ensure schools are actually teaching our kids, keep the state out of local issues and if you want to call a budget balanced you simply can't spend more than what your state pays in."

In the 2022-2023 budget book, the state's largest revenue sources are identified as individual income tax, corporate income tax and state sales tax. They are estimated to be $36,756 million, an increase of $510 million (1.4%) more than fiscal year 2022 estimates. Other state source revenues are projected to total $3,119 million, a $42 million decrease from fiscal year 2022 levels. Transfers into the general funds are projected to total $1,913 million, a decrease of $187 million (8.9%) from fiscal year 2022 estimates.

Federal revenues are projected to total $4,045 million, a decrease of $741 million (15.5%). This is primarily due to the forecasted drop off of the enhanced FMAP revenues after the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.