Grundy Reporter

In a May 25 Facebook post, Sen. Sue Rezin shared her thoughts on the 2023 Fiscal Budget.

“This year we had a real opportunity to show the people of our state that their elected officials can indeed work together in their best interest,” she wrote on Facebook. “We missed that opportunity, and unfortunately, it’s the vulnerable people of our state that will pay the price for that.”

Illinois Republicans championed opinions against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signing of the 2023 Fiscal Budget. Within the budget, the state will give $350 million to K-12 public schools.

On May 24, Pritzker announced that there was a budget agreement, slightly higher than the budget proposed in February, according to a WCIA report. "I vowed to work with the General Assembly to bring fiscal sanity to Illinois while restoring a compassionate state government that invests in the things that build a stronger economy and future," Pritzker said. "I’m pleased to say that’s exactly what this balanced budget does, for the fifth time in a row.”

Former President Donald Trump passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that gave tax cuts for individual tax rates and for the highest-income earners. The Balance Money noted that the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation explained the act would add $1 to $2 trillion to the deficit.

Rezin shared a video of her speech on the Senate floor in response to the budget. She said: “A missed opportunity is how I would sum up this year. This year we had a real opportunity to show the people of our state that our elected officials can indeed work together in the best interest. I truly wish that I was rising here today in support of the budget and proudly able to say, ‘We seized the opportunity.'

"While yes, more progress and negotiation occurred in this year’s budget process than has happened in several years in the past, sadly, at the end of the day that opportunity was squandered away when it became apparent that the needs and the wants of ordinary Illinoisans were going to be ignored in favor of misguided priorities from the other side. This budget here before us is one of the largest, if not the largest spending budget in our state’s history. Despite that fact, we’re failing, or falling far too short of providing the needed funding that our developmentally disabled communities need to take care of the state’s most vulnerable citizens. 

"Invest in Kids. The kids that we have seen line our halls in the Capitol for three months straight, every single day, asking for the scholarships to be renewed. Give them a chance to go to a school that provides them with opportunity and choice. But yet we failed. If you look at our budget, this year our budget is $50 billion. The cost of that program? $75 million in income tax credit. This was a missed opportunity. Unfortunately, it’s the vulnerable people of our state who will pay the price. Thank you, madam president.”

“We’ve achieved our state’s strongest fiscal position in generations, and we prioritized the education, public safety, health, and welfare of the residents of Illinois,” Pritzker said to Chalkbeat Chicago.

ABC 7 reported that the budget passed the Illinois Senate on May 25 and moved to the Illinois House of Republicans. The news outlet reported this: 'The budget - contained amendments to Senate Bill 250 and House Bill 3817 spanning more than 4,000 pages - was filed and passed in short order Thursday evening after a frenzied two days of final negotiations. The House can't move on the bill until Saturday, due to a constitutional requirement that a bill be read on the floor on three separate days before it can receive a vote. The House's plan was to work into the early hours of Saturday rather than return to Springfield next week."