Will County lawmakers: ‘Difficult’ year ahead with federal budget’s ‘trickle-down effect’ on Illinois

State lawmakers in Will County spoke at a Joliet casino about the recent passage of the largest budget in state history and the possibility of making adjustments to the budget later this year.

The $55.1 billion state budget, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed on June 16, was one of the topics of discussion between four Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday at Harrah’s Casino in Joliet.

The event was held by the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce Industry and attended by business leaders and elected officials.

The budget is set to take effect on July 1 and is the largest in state history, according to Capitol News Illinois.

The budget is supported by $55.3 billion in anticipated revenue, which includes more than $700 million in new taxes and more than $500 million in one-time revenues, according to Capitol News Illinois.

State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., D-Joliet, was one of two Democrats in the Illinois House who voted against the budget.

Walsh said it has been a “long, grueling last two years.” He mentioned how the federal money the state received during the COVID-19 pandemic has “dried up” and been spent.

“The argument going into last year from the governor’s office and leadership was that the tax increase that we had last year was going to help us within this budget year,” Walsh said.

He noted how last year’s budget was about $53 billion and this year’s budget has increased further.

Walsh said he did not feel comfortable raising taxes, which is why he voted against the budget. He said he’s been having discussions with his colleagues about figuring out a way to “rein in some of our spending.”

“Those are serious conversations that we need to be having,” Walsh said.

State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Crest Hill, said it’s been difficult to see the state budget increase every year. But she said there are “vital services” that need to be funded and No. 1 for her has always been education.

“As much as there are things I didn’t like in the budget, I did vote for it and I think next year is going to be even more difficult,” Cappel said.

State Rep. Dagmara Avelar, D-Romeoville, said there is a “bigger conversation” with federal funding. She said a lot of state funding is “very much tied to federal-matching funding,” particularly with healthcare services through Medicaid.

Avelar said state lawmakers “might be going back to special session” depending on what happens at the “federal level with the budget.” What happens with the federal budget will have a “trickle-down effect” on the state budget, she said.

“While we did pass budget, don’t be surprised if we actually go back to Springfield prior to [the veto session], which is in October, to make those recalibrations again,” Avelar said.

In a June 16 speech, Pritzker said the administration under U.S. President Donald Trump is “spending wildly on tax cuts for their wealthy friends” while congressional Republicans are voting to “gut healthcare and food assistance for working parents, for seniors and for children.”

“The ‘Trump slump’ is affecting the entire nation. Our neighbors in Iowa are dipping into their rainy day fund and Indiana is making major cuts to higher education and healthcare,” Pritzker said.

State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, said she supported having a digital ad tax on companies such as Google and Facebook but it was removed from the budget. She said those companies “pay zero on their digital ads.”

“They made a ton of profit. I mean, you guys all turn on any streaming service, you’ll see an ad. They’re making money on that and they’re not paying any taxes,” Ventura said.

Ventura said the “richest in this country, the richest in the state” are not “paying their fair share.”

“We continue to leave those dollars on the table while we ask the state to hold the line on all of our agencies,” Ventura said.

Ventura supported the state switching to a progressive income tax system to provide tax relief for the middle class.

State Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, said he was one the lawmakers who fought to take the digital ad tax out of the budget. He questioned the state spending millions of dollars litigating an issue that’s already being litigated elsewhere in the U.S.

“It’s been stuck in court. I want to make sure we have real tangible money when we talk about budgets,” Benton said.

In 2021, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other organizations filed a lawsuit challenging Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax, according to Reuters.

Benton said he doesn’t want to raise taxes or hurt working families but he wants to make sure those families who are struggling can get the services they need.

He said the budget “wasn’t perfect but we can always adapt.”