Gordon-Booth Pushes for Budget Negotiations

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, issued the following statement on May 31, which was scheduled to be the close of the spring legislative session:

“I am disappointed that we ended the month of May not being able to reach an agreement on a full-year budget for the state. People across Illinois and in the Peoria community have been impacted by not having a state budget including seniors, working families, people with disabilities and veterans.

“Over the past few months, I have worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle and from both sides of the Capitol work to address some of the issues in the governor’s legislative agenda to meet some of his goals while also protecting the middle class. We have passed legislation that would cut property taxes, reduce fees on businesses, encourage economic growth and cut wasteful state funding. Unfortunately, it never seems like this is enough for the governor to work with legislators to negotiate the budget.

“I have been working in a bipartisan manner to try to find a conclusion to this mess. I am still committed to working with my colleagues to bring forward a balanced budget while preserving democratic principles.

“One of the most important things for businesses and families alike is to get a budget for the state of Illinois. I remain committed to working with anyone and everyone to bring an end to this impasse and that has to start with agreeing to sit down and work out our differences. Our communities, families and businesses need a budget and all of their elected officials need to agree to work on this right away.

“It should not be forgotten that each compromise on budget matters that we have had over the last two years has been bipartisan. This will be no different.”

For more information, contact Gordon-Booth’s full-time constituent service office at 309-681-1992 or email repjgordon@gmail.com.