Illinois just passed the largest tax increase in state history, imposing about $1 billion in new taxes on a $53 billion budget, but the state is spending nearly that much on immigration alone.
The tax hike irked Republican state Sen. Dan McConchie, who noted that nearly all of the tax increase would go toward Joe Biden’s Illinois immigration spending boost and told voters the Legislature “raised our taxes just to spend on immigration.”
After hours of closed-door discussions closed to the public and media on Sunday, the state’s Democratic-controlled Senate finalized a $53.1 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
A man walks through a small tent city for migrants near a North Side police station in Chicago, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Nervous authorities in suburbs and surrounding cities near Chicago are giving the cold shoulder to migrants arriving from the southern border. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
The budget bill passed by a vote of 38-21, with no Republicans in favor. State Journal Register.
The original proposal included raising $1.1 billion in new revenue through tax increases, the paper reported, but the final vote cut those huge new taxes slightly, bringing the total to $870 million.
One of the more surprising tax increases would be on sports betting, which could reach up to 40 percent, and which the gambling industry warned would likely stop investing in Illinois’ gaming sector.
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But the tax increase will barely be enough to cover the huge expenses that Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is spending on Joe Biden’s border crossing wave.
Governor Pritzker had already spent $475 million on immigration measures early last year, but by November he had added another $160 million, and earlier this year he claimed he intended to spend another $182 million at the start of fiscal year 2025, according to WTTW.
That’s more than $817 million, nearly all of the $870 million in new taxes the state will be levied in the new budget.
The spending came as a shock to Republican Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Lake Zurich, who noted he voted “no” on the bill, saying the state raised taxes but spent it all on immigrants.
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“We just passed the largest budget in the history of the state of Illinois, over $53 billion, with about $1 billion in tax increases and about $1 billion for the immigration crisis. So we just raised our taxes to spend on immigration,” he said in a video posted to social media.
But Governor Pritzker touted the tax cuts, saying they are important for Illinois families in tough times of Biden inflation.
Insanity
Sen. Dan McConchie: “We just passed the largest budget in the history of the state of Illinois. Over $53 billion, about $1 billion of that is in tax increases, about $1 billion of that is in response to the immigration crisis. So we raised taxes just to address immigration.” pic.twitter.com/WVVKznu5Ws
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) May 27, 2024
Governor Pritzker has proposed eliminating state taxes on food in 2025, but local governments have balked at the plan and successfully persuaded Democrats to repeal the tax cuts.
The cuts were set to take effect in the fiscal 2025 budget but were delayed until fiscal 2026. But Senate Democrats also included a provision that would allow towns and cities to impose their own food taxes, which would nullify the repeal of the state tax.
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