Chambana Sun

According to Illinois Republicans, billions of dollars in expected revenue is missing from the state's budget for the upcoming fiscal year — a potential ploy to raise taxes again, says many GOP legislators who attended a May 27 news conference.

State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Champaign) said that there are plenty of funds available to get through the FY 21 budget cycle without increasing taxes. According to the senator, the state's revenue estimate has increased by $8.1 billion from the last fiscal year. 

"And yet, Gov. Pritzker and his Democrat Party colleagues still say they don't have enough money," Rose said. "Now let's add to that the Biden bucks that came in, we've got another $8 billion on top of that from the federal taxpayers that have sent another $8 billion to the State of Illinois."

Rose questioned why Springfield is claiming to be in a revenue deficit with $16 billion in unexpected revenue at its disposal for FY 21. 

"They're looking each of you in the eye every day and they're looking at the people of Illinois in the eye every day and they're saying, 'we don't have enough money.' Really?" the senator said. "These guys have plenty of money. The question that needs to be asked of Gov. Pritzker is 'where does it end?' When is enough enough?"

The controlling party will pursue farmers, public schools, truckers and the biodiesel industry to get the extra money it's hungry for, according to Rose. 

"They're coming for men and women with dirt under their fingernails," Rose said. "Do you think J.B. Pritzker has dirt under his fingernails? I don’t think so. But those folks in the Blue Collar Jobs Act that he signed into law and hailed as a great step forward, that’s who he’s coming for."

According to The Center Square, Democrats claim that there is a $1.3 billion hole in the budget.

Republicans say this will not be the case for the upcoming fiscal year, and that there will also be an additional $792 million in base revenue for FY 2022.