Lake County Gazette

Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Lake Barrington) expressed his response to the newly approved budget and increasing expenses in Illinois via a Facebook post on May 30.

"Why is everything costing so much more these days?" McLaughlin wrote. "The simple answer is the government, both federal and state, is spending more than they receive in taxes."

In his Facebook post, McLaughlin shared a link to a his website with a more extensive statement of five budget priorities.

"Here are five priorities that I wanted to see addressed in this budget, but of course, none of these ended up within the hyper-partisan budget," McLaughlin said on his website.

His priorities are as follows: "Invest in Kids: Economically disadvantaged students will see their scholarships eliminated at the end of the calendar year due to Democrats’ inaction on the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship fund. Lower business regulation: To incentivize new businesses and investment in Illinois. Estate Tax: Small farms and businesses will continue to be punished by the state’s overly burdensome estate tax. R&D Tax Credit: Communities, which would stand to benefit from major investment from businesses, are clamoring for a larger R&D tax credit, but you will not find it in the Democrats’ budget. Developmentally Disabled: The developmentally disabled population and those who have been waiting for years on the PUNS (Prioritization for Urgency of Need for Services) list, because there is a staff shortage due to the abysmal pay these workers receive, will have to wait even longer. Illinois has been the worst state in the nation for helping the developmentally disabled for decades."

Released on Feb. 15, a document highlighted the proposed budget's positive aspects, emphasizing the state's improved financial condition. These included the elimination of bill backlogs, a substantial Rainy Day Fund balance of $1.9 billion and reductions in pension liabilities, amounting to a significant savings of $4 billion. The proposed budget amounted to $49.6 billion. The proposed budget is available at the State of Illinois Office of Management and Budget. 

On May 26, WAND TV reported that Senate Democrats had passed the budget on May 25 and sent it to the House of Representatives for passage and discussion. While Democrats hold the majority in the Senate, there was Republican input into the budget negotiation process, which Republican legislators appreciated, according to WAND.

McLaughlin did find one good thing in the budget and acknowledged this in his press release. 

"One bright spot this session was the bipartisan support for behavioral and mental health investment in our state that has been sorely needed and hopefully will have a positive impact in education and public safety," McLaughlin said, according to his website.