SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker delivered his annual State of the State/Budget Address Feb. 21, proposing a billion dollars in tax increases to fund the growing costs of the migrant crisis that he invited to Illinois.

Even as grocery prices hit a 30-year high, the Governor’s tax increases would hit families yet again by cutting the standard deduction. His plan would also go after small and large jobs creators, leaving Illinoisans earning less, paying more for goods and services, or both.

Since taking office, Pritzker has increased spending on noncitizen programs from just a few million dollars per year to roughly a billion dollars, by offering services from free housing to free healthcare.

State Senator Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) argued that increasing taxes by a billion dollars to pay for a billion dollars in spending on noncitizens is a clear display of the Governor’s misplaced priorities.

Overall, the Governor’s budget would set a new record as the largest in state history. Pritzker called for an additional $2 billion in spending with a total price tag of nearly $53 billion. If he is able to pass his plan, he will have grown state spending by 30 percent in just six years in office.

Members of the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus have long advocated for eliminating the one percent sales tax on groceries to help consumers, while at the same time providing fiscal resources for local governments and municipalities to compensate for any groceries sales tax revenues they currently are receiving. While Pritzker claimed to support the idea in the speech, he failed to include details in his budget document, so it’s hard to tell how serious he actually is about the concept, and what provisions, if any, would be made for local governments and municipalities in his plan.

Senator Tracy said she is committed to fighting these proposed billion dollars in tax increases and providing real relief to the citizens of the state. She is asking for help from the public to tell Pritzker “NO” to these new tax hikes by signing her petition at https://senatorjiltracy.com/say-no-to-tax-hikes-petition/ .