Democrat Budget Proposal Spends $2.6 Billion More than Revenue Estimate
House Speaker Chris Welch (right) and House Majority Leader Greg Harris (D-Chicago) confer on the House floor.
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Late Tuesday night, House Democrats introduced a 3,200 page state budget.
The bill includes $30 million to move the fleet of state vehicles to all electric and $58 million to pay the interest on unemployment insurance fund loans the state just used federal ARPA money to fill.
While Democrats have been patting themselves on the back for fiscal responsibility during the spring session, it appears this version of a proposed budget is around $2.6 billion out of balance. The legislation spends around $47.4 billion. But the last available revenue estimate from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) shows expected FY 23 revenues around $44.8 billion.
Governor JB Pritzker’s proposed budget was around $45 billion. One observer I spoke to last night (or maybe this morning, it all runs together this time of year) thinks the bill may be a power play to get Senate Democrats and the Governor back on the same page.
As of this writing, the amendment hasn’t been posted for a committee hearing, but that could change in a hurry. It could also magnify tensions among top Democrats.