By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker’s second-term legislative agenda will begin in earnest next week when he proposes his fifth annual State budget to lawmakers in the General Assembly. Although a governor’s proposal usually provides framework for the State’s annual spending plan, it rarely makes it through the General Assembly
By Jerry Nowicki Sustained higher-than-predicted State tax revenues have in recent months given lawmakers a level of budgeting flexibility that is, at least in modern times, without precedent in a State with a reputation for perilous finances. For the current fiscal year and the one prior to it, that’s led
By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker signed his final first-term budget into law Tuesday, a roughly $46 billion spending plan buoyed by pandemic-driven revenue windfalls and a current-year surplus that helped the State pay down debts and offer temporary tax relief. Among the three budget-related bills signed Tuesday, House Bill
By Jason Crane At the Aurora city government meeting Tuesday, through the Zoom video conference platform, the City Council unanimously approved a $406,358,000 balanced budget for 2021. The meeting can be viewed on the City’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eygew_SaQfU There were no speakers for the budget public hearing, or the three
The DuPage County Board Tuesday approved its Fiscal Year 2021 budget, which includes a balanced, $483.3 Million spending plan. The FY 2021 spending plan increased funding for public safety. The State’s attorney’s office received additional allocations to support for three special prosecution units and increased resources for investigations and trial
Following passage of a State budget that prioritizes health care and essential services, State representatives Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, issued the following statement Saturday: “First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge all of our frontline workers during this difficult time and thank all the nurses, doctors and first responders for
By JERRY NOWICKI One day before governor JB Pritzker’s budget address, House Republican lawmakers called for another “inclusive” and “bipartisan” effort at adopting a state budget without new taxes. “Let’s go back in time to last spring. Through a bipartisan effort and agreements in both chambers, we were able to
The DuPage County Board approved its Fiscal Year 2020 budget with a balanced, $476.2 Million spending plan. The budget provides funding to replace the County’s 40-year-old property tax administration system, increase the Sheriff’s patrol capacity and replace 16 patrol vehicles. The FY2020 Budget provides $1 Million in grant-funded local social
