Kendall County Times

Taking aim at Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new $50.4 billion budget, State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) is calling the spending plan more of the same reckless spending by Democrats that has Illinois swimming in red ink.

In a statement posted on his official website, Ugaste targeted the spending plan, pointing out that residents deserve more than they are getting from legislators.

“Delivered in the middle of the night and filled with gimmicks instead of structural changes to improve our state’s finances, the Democrats’ budget prioritizes new spending over existing commitments," Ugaste said in the statement posted to his website. "We are seeing local government funding sleight-of-hand that shorts these governments and the state playing shell games with the General Revenue Fund and COVID costs to hide the actual spending.”

Ugaste added in the statement that as people across Illinois are struggling with inflation, Democrats approved what he called an unconstitutional pay hike.

“Illinoisans deserve better than smoke and mirrors and this disgraceful budgetary circus,” he said on the website. “We need a transparent, accountable budgeting process.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Pritzker’s office pointed out line-item reductions of $192,700 were made after a review found cost-of-living pay raises granted in the budget to constitutional officers, legislators and appointed officers of the executive branch were more than 5%, which was found to be unconstitutional.

The Chicago Sun-Times also reported that Pritzker’s spending plan also includes $350 million earmarked for Illinois’ K-13 evidence-based school funding formula, another $100 million for MAP grant funding for higher education and an additional $100 million for public universities.

The report noted the MAP grant funding is expected to provide a chance for people to attend community college for free.

Republican lawmakers in Springfield were criticizing the budget plan for several reasons, including the fact they were not included in the negotiation phase to develop the plan.