On Feb. 23, newly-elected Governor JB Pritzker delivered his first-ever budget address before members of the General Assembly.

State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) issued the following statement in reaction to the address:

“While I can appreciate the Governor’s willingness to move forward in a bipartisan manner, I have very real concerns about some of the aspects of his proposal today. His agenda includes increased spending, raises in taxes and deferred pension payments. This isn’t responsible policy. It’s more of the same failed borrow-and-spend gimmicks of the past,” stated Syverson. “However, there were points made in his proposal that we can embrace—including increased funding for education—and that is encouraging. Hopefully, moving forward the Governor will hold to his promise for compromise and bipartisanship. If we work together, I believe we can make some fundamental improvements to his budget proposal that ensures we are caring for our state’s most vulnerable residents while putting ourselves on a more responsible path going forward.”