The Illinois House of Representatives adjourned the spring legislative session, delaying plans for the time being to make the temporary income tax hikes permanent.
After four months of budget talks that were clearly aimed at making the tax hike permanent, last week, House Democrats approved a series of budget bills that will be combined to create the Fiscal Year 2015 budget (which starts in five weeks). It was the third series of budget bills considered in the last two weeks and was pushed through without any bipartisan support.
These budget bills have been approved by the House and Senate:
General Funds Expenditures
It is outrageous that the Springfield leadership would find it acceptable to overspend taxpayer dollars like this, only adding to our long list of unpaid bills. Most of the overspending was by sweeping other state funds that will hurt next year’s budget. In short, the unbalanced budget increases our load of unpaid bills and sets the stage for the permanent extension of the temporary tax hike of 2011. It is clear they have learned nothing from past mistakes.
This year’s budget process was not transparent or bipartisan. We need to do a better job in Springfield of paying back our bills and cutting wasteful spending. The bottom line is that Illinois families cannot afford yet another bloated budget fraught with overspending.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about the topics discussed in this newsletter, or any other part of state government, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (815) 547-3436 or by email at repsosnowski@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Joe Sosnowski
State Representative
69th District
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