North Egypt News

The Illinois Senate passed the budget plan for fiscal year 2024, but some are criticizing it as a partisan spending plan that puts politics above people.

“A half hour before midnight, Illinois Senate Democrats passed a partisan budget for FY24,” State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) posted on Facebook May 26. “I spoke out against their backwards priorities that do not put Illinoisans first.”

On May 26, ABC7 reported that the budget had passed the Senate and it had moved to the House. The report showed that Bryant isn't the only Republican who is unhappy with the budget.

In his first year leading the superminority caucus, Senate Republican Leader John Curran (Downers Grove) said the inclusion of Republicans in negotiations was "a step forward in our working relationships across the aisle for the betterment of the people of Illinois,” the report said. But in the end, he said, he rejected the budget as an expansion of government. 

"A few Senate Republican priorities - really some joint priorities - are reflected in this budget," Curran said. "However, what matters to the people of Illinois is not the process, but the product. As you will see by the uniform 'no' votes from our caucus, this final product does not reflect the entire state of Illinois."

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced May 24 that there was a budget plan, slightly higher than the budget proposed in February, according to a WCIA report. Pritzker said. ”I vowed to work with the General Assembly to bring fiscal sanity to Illinois while restoring a compassionate state government that invests in the things that build a stronger economy and future,” Pritzker said. “I’m pleased to say that’s exactly what this balanced budget does, for the fifth time in a row.” 

In her Facbeook post, Bryant shared a video of her speech on the Senate floor.

“I do think that when we are putting budgets together, priorities are important,”she said in that speech. “Now I made one issue a priority for me this past year because I wanted to understand better how certain money was being spent.” She said her  priority was spending on immigrant welcome centers. To understand what they do, Bryant said she visited one.

“I talked to the people who were there, so I don’t mean to take away from any of the good things they’re doing with the immigrant welcome centers,” Bryant said. But with $110 million on the line, she said she wanted to check it out. To her surprise, someone handed a debit card to a man who entered the center.

“It happened while I was standing there. Is it important money to be spent? Maybe. That’s $110 million going to noncitizens, to immigrant welcoming centers, in addition to the … $40.2 million, that will be going to the City of Chicago for asylum seekers,” Bryant said.

She said that the money could be better spent elsewhere and urged a “no” vote on the budget plan.