Will County Gazette

Rep. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) says that Gov. Pritzker's budget proposal will drastically increase state spending to the tune of more than $10 billion or 25% in five years' time.

“We cannot continue to increase our spending year after year, especially as our nation faces a potential recession and the federal pandemic stimulus money has virtually dried up,” Stoller wrote in a Facebook post that also included a graph showing the increase in spending since Pritzker took office.

The graph showed that in fiscal year 2019 the state spent $39.5 billion, which increased to $40 billion in fiscal year 2020 and then, under Pritzker's budget, would skyrocket to $49.6 billion for fiscal year 2024.

The new budget year starts on July 1. Pritzker’s plan includes a record-setting amount of spending, the Chicago Tribune report. It calls for a nearly 8% increase over the $46 billion budget that was approved last spring.

Pritzker also urged lawmakers to join him in supporting the budget's early education program “Smart Start Illinois,” which he said is a “long-term investment that has the greatest return for taxpayers with the most positive social and economic impact that I have ever come to you with.”