CHICAGO — Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reelection-year budget proposal on Wednesday will dangle the prospect of delivering relief on food, gasoline and property taxes to Illinois voters in a spending plan buoyed by an improved state financial outlook and federal coronavirus relief.
Despite recent credit upgrades and higher-than-expected revenue, however, Illinois still faces massive pension debts and other long-term fiscal challenges. And rising inflation and turmoil in the stock market raise the possibility of stronger economic headwinds ahead as the federal government eases off the stimulus programs that helped states avoid some of the most dire forecasts from the early days of the pandemic.
In a combined budget speech and State of the State address, Pritzker will face a dual task: outlining his spending plan to kick off negotiations in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, and making the case to voters that his handling of the state’s chronically shaky finances, his pandemic public health policies and his efforts to reach out to long-neglected minority communities have earned him another four years in office.
