Assistant Minority Leader and State Representative John M. Cabello issued the following statement upon passage of the FY27 Illinois budget early Monday:
“Governor JB Pritzker and his allies in the General Assembly proved again tonight that they have learned nothing from their failed policies over the last eight years. They promised affordability. Instead, they passed a budget that repeats the same tax-and-spend approach that has landed Illinois ranked 49th in economic performance and 45th in economic outlook, according to the nonpartisan Rich States, Poor States Competitiveness Index.
The facts about the new state budget:
• $55.9 BILLION in state spending — the largest budget in Illinois history.
• $800 MILLION in new taxes and fees.
• $220 MILLION in pork projects — $3 MILLION for every Democratic Senator and $1.5 MILLION for every Democratic Representative.
• More pressure on taxpayers who are already drowning in property taxes and energy costs.
This is not delivering affordability to Illinois taxpayers.
This is a doubling down on high taxes, more spending, and setting JB Pritzker up to ‘walk’ for President in 2028 by letting him off the hook from having to meet the real challenges facing Illinois residents.
You don’t bring jobs and growth back to Illinois or keep families here by ignoring the crushing burden of high property taxes and the highest overall tax burden of any state.
Government is not the source of our prosperity. Hardworking Illinoisans are.
Government does not create opportunity. The people create opportunity.
Government does not build communities. The people build communities.
When government grows faster than the families paying it, freedom shrinks.
Every dollar the State spends belonged to someone who earned it before it belonged to Springfield. Those earners have a right to expect something from us:
Honesty.
Transparency.
Accountability.
Those qualities are in short supply in the new state budget.
The people of Illinois deserve a government as honest as their work, as responsible as their families, and as strong as their character. For them, for their future, for the Illinois we love, I voted “No” on the FY27 state budget that fails to deliver the tax relief and spending restraint that we desperately need for our state to thrive again.”
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John M. Cabello is the Assistant Minority Leader and State Representative for Illinois’ 90th House District, which includes the following communities in Winnebago, Stephenson, and Boone counties: Rockford, Machesney Park, Freeport, Roscoe, Loves Park, Rockton, South Beloit, Caledonia, Durand, Rock City, and Rockton.