State budget passes in the wee hours of Wed.

A $53.3 billion state budget was passed through the Illinois House of Representatives before lawmakers adjourned for the spring in the early morning hours Wednesday.

House members returned to Springfield following the Memorial Day holiday Tuesday to adopt and implement the budget. The state Senate worked throughout the holiday weekend to pass the budget late Sunday evening.

The reaction is coming in after the budget passage in Illinois.

State Representative Dennis Tipsword (R-Metamora) cast a resounding “no” vote.

“The majority party’s spending consistently outpaces revenues, and their solution is always the same…raise taxes on families and businesses!” Rep. Tipsword said. “The Governor again kept his promise to raise taxes by $1 billion to fund the illegal immigrant crisis he created; and worked with Democrat legislative leaders behind closed doors on a plan that forces you to pay more for their spending priorities, all while families across Illinois continue to struggle every day with sky-high inflation. It’s shameful.”

Senator Tom Bennet (R-Gibson City) issued the following statement after voting against Governor Pritzker’s budget that will spend more than $53 billion in Fiscal Year 2025:

“The Governor has once more followed through with a state budget that fails to align with the priorities of Illinois residents.

“His actions repeatedly show that his priorities are misguided. He intends to raise taxes on hardworking Illinoisans by nearly a $1 billion in an effort to fund his self-created migrant crisis, leaving special education students, college students, the developmentally disabled community, school construction, soil and water, and the taxpayers of Illinois in the dust.

“Since Governor Pritzker took office, state spending has increased by a troubling 32% in just five years—a record breaking figure of $13 billion​. This path Governor Pritzker and his allies continue down is unstainable. Where will revenue come from next year?

 “As a result, people might have to pay more for the same goods, earn less for the same work, or even both. Taxpayers in Illinois deserve a clear and transparent budgeting process that focuses on essential spending and manages their money responsibly.”