State Senator Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) announced today that he is challenging the unconstitutional, unethical, and backroom process used by Illinois politicians to ram through this year’s $55.2 billion State budget, the largest in State history.
“The people of Illinois deserve an honest process,” said Chesney. “Instead, they were betrayed by their state government. Illinoisans got a budget rammed through by political insiders who circumvented processes and ensured there was little time to read it or debate it. That’s not transparency. That’s not democracy. And it certainly isn’t constitutional.”
The Illinois Constitution requires that every bill be read on three separate days in each chamber, a safeguard meant to ensure thoughtful deliberation, prevent abuse, and protect taxpayers. Yet, year after year, Springfield insiders bypass that rule by gutting unrelated bills and stuffing them with bloated, last-minute spending, often just hours before lawmakers are forced to vote. This year, Illinois Democrats replaced a single-sentence bill with an over 3,300-page amendment and took a final action vote in less than 48 hours, violating and making a mockery of the constitutionally-mandated three reading rule.
“This is a deliberate and repeated subversion of the people’s Constitution. When it’s all done in secret and there’s token debate, here’s what you get: a billion dollars in tax hikes, $43 million in property tax relief removed, and a $40 million earmark quietly slipped into the Speaker’s district,” Chesney said.
Senator Chesney pointed to the defeat of the 2020 Graduated Income Tax Amendment to show that transparency leads to better outcomes.
“When voters had time to study the tax hike proposal and speak out, they crushed it at the ballot box,” said Chesney. “That’s what real transparency looks like. The Democrats pushing these secretive budget deals know their schemes wouldn’t survive daylight. That’s why the build the budget behind closed doors and ram it through without proper scrutiny. It is precisely why the Illinois Constitution requires three readings on three separate days.”
Chesney is joined in the legal challenge to stop the corrupt process by State Representatives Chris Miller (R-Hindsboro), Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City), Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich), Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), Jed Davis (R-Newark), and David Friess (R-Red Bud), who are all serving as co-plaintiffs.
“This isn’t just about one corrupt budget. This is about whether our Constitution means anything at all,” Chesney added. “If the rules no longer apply to those in power, then Illinois no longer has a government of laws. It means Illinois has a government of convenience and for the benefit of political insiders. I am fighting to make sure this state answers to its people so Illinoisans have a government that works for them, not against them.”
