When it comes to Illinois Democrats’ insatiable appetite for spending, I must wonder: When is enough, enough?
Each year in Springfield, we see the same troubling pattern: more spending, more government expansion, and more tax hikes. It’s a cycle that continues to punish working families and job creators across Illinois, and it’s clear that the concept of fiscal responsibility is completely forgotten by majority party Democrats.
For the current fiscal year, Democrats pushed through $1 billion in tax hikes to fund their bloated budget. Now, with families already struggling to keep up with soaring grocery bills, high gas prices, and relentless property tax hikes, last week, they unveiled another staggering $6 billion in new tax proposals to help fund the budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which funds operations beginning July 1, 2025.
This kind of budgeting is not just irresponsible, it’s unsustainable. It ignores the basic principle that every Illinois household lives by: you cannot spend more than you take in. Responsible families balance their checkbooks, prioritize their needs, and make difficult choices to stay afloat. Shouldn’t state government do the same?
In Governor Pritzker’s February budget address, he proposed the largest budget in Illinois history at $55.4 billion. It’s a plan that increases spending, expands entitlements, and includes unprecedented benefits for those in the country illegally. This is not a blueprint for growth — it’s a recipe for economic decline.
Illinois already has the highest overall tax burden in the nation. And just last week, the American Legislative Exchange Council released its “Rich States, Poor States” 2025 report, which ranks Illinois near the bottom in a study of how friendly state policies are for economic growth. The report judges each state based on 15 different economic outlook factors, including property tax rate, sales tax rate, top marginal income tax rate, top marginal corporate tax rate, how progressive the personal income tax rate is, as well as whether there is an inheritance tax. The report also considers the state minimum wage, average worker’s compensation costs, whether it is a right-to-work state, the size of the debt, and the number of public employees compared to the state population. Only Vermont and New York scored worse than Illinois on these combined metrics.
Rather than asking what more we can tax, we should be asking what we can do to rein in government excess. Instead of building bigger bureaucracies, we should be focusing on growing opportunity, supporting small businesses, and helping families stay and thrive in Illinois.
Democrats’ latest tax hike proposals threaten family farms, small businesses, and workers across our state. If passed, the cost won’t just be measured in dollars — it will be seen in lost jobs, shuttered storefronts, and young people leaving for better opportunities elsewhere.
As budget negotiations intensify ahead of the May 31 deadline, I will be fighting for a balanced budget that requires no new taxes or fees. That’s not just good policy — it’s common sense. Every Illinois family has to live within a budget. It’s time our state government did the same.
Illinoisans deserve better. They deserve leaders who understand that fiscal responsibility begins and ends with living within their means. It’s about protecting future generations, honoring taxpayers, and building a sustainable path forward. So again I ask: When is enough, enough?
