Carbondale Reporter

Rep. Dave Severin (R-Marion) voted against the state budget for the 2023 fiscal year.

“This feels like deja-vu all over again,” Severin said in a statement on his website. “Democrats waited until everyone was in bed, rushed through legislation that spends billions of dollars, raised their own pay, and put pork projects ahead of good public policy. The Democrats’-only FY 23 budget leaves a hole in the unemployment insurance trust fund when we have been given the money by the federal government to pay back the debt.”

House Majority Leader Greg Harris (D-Chicago) told the Chicago Tribune the budget is meant for “fiscal responsibility.”

Severin isn't the only Republican legislator who has issues with the budget. 

The Chicago Tribune quoted Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Decatur) as saying: “We can ... do the earned income tax credit increase that the governor proposed on a permanent basis, not election-year gimmicks, not designed to go away after the election is over, but on a permanent basis for the people of Illinois.”

According to NBC 5 Chicago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the budget is a historic win for the state.

“We end this legislative session with enormous and historic victories for the people of Illinois: Gas, grocery, and property tax relief, more support for local government than ever before, a massive improvement in staffing for our nursing home residents, short and long term debt reduction, and a balanced budget for the fourth year in a row," Pritzker said.

The Chicago Tribune reported the House of Representatives passed the  $46.5 billion budget just before 6 a.m. on April 9, hours after passage by the Senate.

To view the budget, view the state’s PDF.

NBC5 Chicago reported that the budget includes the following elements: A suspension of the state's 1% sales tax on groceries through July 1, 2023; the state's fuel tax will be frozen at 39 cents per gallon through Jan. 1, 2023; the earned income tax credit will be expanded and homeowners will get up to $300 in rebates from their property taxes; also, families will get checks from the state — $50 per individual and $100 per child. Income limits of $200,000 per individual taxpayer, or $400,000 for joint followers apply.