House Democrats Face Potential Budget Drama in Return to Springfield
House Speaker Chris Welch
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The House returns to Springfield Tuesday some 60 hours after adjourning Saturday night without a budget deal and some 36 hours after the Senate passed a $53 billion dollar spending plan Sunday night.
House Democrats now face a major internal dilemma— continue internal battling over the spending proposal— or fall in line with the Senate and pass a budget. House Democrats have been blamed by many under the dome in recent weeks for the inability for the supermajority party to get on board a final budget, for reasons ranging from members wanting more taxes and spending, to those opposed to some of Governor JB Pritzker’s proposed tax hikes, to others who wanted spending cuts to help the state close a nearly $1 billion dollar spending hole.
The House bolted town Saturday night, leaving the budget in the hands of the Senate Sunday. Senate Democrats, minus two moderate defectors, passed a budget along party lines late Sunday night, sending it to the House.
The bill needs to be read into the record on three separate days for the House to take up a final budget bill. It was read into the record for the first time Sunday night, but the House must be in session for the second and third reading, meaning the earliest a vote could be taken is early Wednesday morning.
There’s a mix of optimism and concern as Democrats return to the Capitol today.
“There’s grumbling,” one House Democrat said Monday. “But I don’t know if it will translate into real drama.”
Of course, with 77 Democrats in the chamber, they’re down one after the resignation of now-Sen. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights), they could still pass a budget with 17 defections.
One top Democrat we spoke to Monday believed there’s no point in reticent Democrats to try to hold up a budget they can’t stop.
“Everyone is going to get in line,” the Democrat said. “We’ll give our speeches, thank or staffs, listen to Republicans tell lies, and we’ll all go home.”
Republicans, who have been completely shut out of budget discussions for the second year in a row, are not expected to put any votes on the spending plan. House GOP Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) criticized Democratic leaders for “mismanagement and dysfunction” for blowing their self-imposed adjournment deadline last Friday.
Here are some highlights in the budget, BIMP, and revenue bills:
The spending number is $53.1 billion, the revenue figure is $53.3 billion, about $400 million more in spending than Governor Pritzker proposed in his budget. Republicans believe there are a lot of internal fund transfers to hit those numbers.
The sports betting tax would be graduated, ranging from 20% to 40% and would bring in about $200 million per year.
Lawmakers kept a 5% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for themselves in the budget. They increased their own pay last year.
Cuts totaled about $73 million, a relative drop in the bucket.
The budget includes $182 million the governor proposed for the ongoing migrant crisis in the city of Chicago. State leaders have long said the federal government needs to do more to help cities like Chicago deal with the influx of migrants who are in the country legally and seeking asylum.
The budget includes the required $350 million increase in funding for K-12 education and a 2% increase for higher education. Chicago Mayor Brand Johnson’s ask for an additional $1 billion for CPS is not in the budget.
$14 million is budgeted to launch Gov. Pritzker’s new cabinet-level Department of Early Childhood.
The 1% tax on groceries is eliminated on Jan. 1, 2026. That money, of course, goes to local governments. Home rule communities would be allowed to put in their own grocery tax, non-home rule communities would be able to tack on a 1% general retail sales tax.
The plan expands the child tax credit to children under 12. The Governor’s proposal was children under 3.
The Governor’s proposal to reduce automatic increases in the standard deduction on yearly taxes is not in the final budget.
There is $440 million for the Medicaid-style health insurance program for undocumented/illegal immigrants, which Republicans will continue to harp on for the foreseeable future.
$198 million will be deposited into the state’s “rainy day” fund.
The full pension payment is included.