“Our state faces a number of challenges, and it is encouraging to have a governor who is willing to work with the General Assembly, stakeholders and members on both sides of the aisle to make the tough decisions needed to put our state back on track.
“After four years of failed leadership by a governor who preferred political posturing over cooperation, I look forward to reviewing the real ideas put forth by Governor Pritzker today to see how they will impact the communities I serve.
“We must focus on investing in education, fulfilling our promises accomplished with school funding reform, while again prioritizing our opportunity-creating higher education system. While we must look at controlling state spending, I remain committed to protecting critically-needed, essential services that children, seniors and families depend on.
“It will take compromise and negotiation to craft a budget plan that meets the needs of our state now and moving forward, but today was an important first step. I look forward to working with the governor’s administration and my colleagues to do what is needed for our state.”