Illinois Report Projects Budget Deficits and Lagging Revenues
SPRINGFIELD – A yearly report by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) projects troubling news for Illinois’ economy – a $3.16 billion state budget deficit for the upcoming Fiscal Year leading some to question if another tax hike could be on the horizon.
State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley) says state government spending has increased by 32 percent since Governor JB Pritzker took office, which is why Democrat leaders earlier this year forced through a record-breaking $53 billion budget that includes nearly $1 billion in higher taxes. That record-breaking budget also provides more than $1 billion in free benefits for noncitizens.
“We warned over and over last year that the Democratic spending was putting Illinois into financial crisis, and we were brushed off. Well, you can’t brush off the $3 billion dollar shortfall Illinois now faces,” Senator Syverson said. “What’s more frustrating is the $3 billion shortfall comes even after the $1 billion in new taxes they passed this last year. This was all preventable if they had worked with us to pass responsible budgets the last three years.”
ISAC Offers Help With College and Financial Aid Applications
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is offering free college application and financial aid application completion workshops statewide.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will launch in December.
The FAFSA is the key to unlocking federal, state, and some institutional student financial aid to help pay for college, vocational school, or graduate school. The FAFSA is not just an application for student loans, but also for aid that students don’t have to pay back. That includes scholarships as well as federal grants such as the Pell Grant, and state grants like the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grant, which is the state’s largest need-based grant program for low-income college students.
Students should complete the 2025-26 FAFSA as soon as possible when it becomes available in December 2024. For information, click https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.
Illinois DCFS Celebrates Adoption Awareness Month
November is Adoption Awareness Month, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is celebrating thousands of families across the state who have opened their homes to 19,347 children in the past 10 years.
Courtrooms across the state are also opening their doors to finalize adoptions during special Adoption Day celebrations on November 22 in Chicago and Marion, November 23 in Rockford, and December 27 in Edwardsville.
Last fiscal year, 2,184 Illinois children were adopted into permanent, loving families. Currently, there are 18,850 youth in care waiting for a family and place to call home.
For more information about becoming an adoptive parent, visit dcfs.illinois.gov and click on “Loving Homes,” then click on “Become a Foster or Adoptive Parent.”