Chambana Sun

Rep. Jason Bunting (R-Springfield) said on his official website that he is cosponsoring a balanced-budget amendment to the Illinois Constitution.

“For too long Illinois has passed budgets that appear balanced, but turn out to be anything but,” he wrote in his March 17 newsletter. “Accounting gimmicks and other tricks have led to the passage of large, unbalanced budgets that have driven the state deeper into debt and caused us to have one of the worst credit ratings in the nation. We need to reform our budgeting process to require that all state budgets are truly balanced. To try to make this a reality, I am co-sponsoring an amendment to the Illinois Constitution which would require exactly that."

HJRCA0012 was filed with the clerk by Rep. John Egofske (R-Lemont) on Feb. 22. On March 2, Bunting joined as co-sponsor. The constitutional amendment seeks to: amend the Finance Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that the General Assembly shall pass a balanced budget that makes appropriations based on funds estimated to be available by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Effective upon being declared adopted."

In his State of the State address, Gov. J.B. Pritzker promoted Smart Start Illinois, an early education program that has four elements: pre-K, childcare, early intervention, and home visiting. The four-year program will, he says, will increase the state's funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant Program by $75 million.

"What was once an Illinois with $17 billion in overdue bills is now an Illinois that pays its bills on time," the governor said in his address. "What was once an Illinois that went years without a budget is now an Illinois that has passed four balanced budgets in a row. What was once a state with no cushion to protect it in an economic downturn is now an Illinois on track to have a $2.3 billion Rainy Day Fund. What was once an Illinois with a credit rating on the verge of junk status is now an Illinois getting credit upgrades. Our fiscal progress is remarkable. Remember the $230 million in College Illinois debt? Paid. Remember the $900 million in group health insurance debt? Paid. How about the $800 million Thompson center liability? Paid. $4.5 billion Unemployment Trust Fund debt? Paid. The $1.3 billion debt owed to Illinois’ treasury funds swept by previous governors? Paid. $8 billion of overdue bills? Paid."

Pritzker said that he wanted to see that every 3- and 4-year-old in Illinois had access to pre-kindergarten services by 2027, and that there would be a $400 million investment to bring 5,000 children into the program this year.

Bunting was selected to represent the 106th House District after Thomas Bennett was selected to join the Senate to fill the seat of former Sen. Jason Barickman, who stepped down before the legislative session began. Bunting was previously elected as the highway commissioner of Broughton Township, and as president of the Livingston County Farm Bureau. According to his official biography, he is a director for the Illinois Corn Growers’ Association.