Rep. Rick Ryan Ends Legislative Session with Lean Balanced Budget, Cuts to Property Taxes, Lower-Cost Prescription Drugs

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Rick Ryan, D-Evergreen Park, finished a productive spring by helping to pass a responsible budget that cuts bureaucracy to better support investments in classrooms, public safety and other family priorities.

“This year, lawmakers were dedicated to passing a balanced budget that cuts wasteful and unnecessary spending on government administration while funding essentials like better schools for our kids and better pay for in-home caregivers,” Ryan said. “As I continue to fight to keep our community a great place to live, I was proud to put my support behind a plan that also funds new safety net hospitals and health clinics in underserved areas.”

In another step to ease economic burdens for working families and reform Illinois’ property tax system, Ryan helped advance Senate Bill 2156. This measure would create much-needed relief, fairness and efficiency, especially for seniors who are disproportionately affected by high property taxes.

“The financial burdens of Illinois property taxes are too large and they land too substantially on fixed-income earners—seniors especially,” Ryan said. “This year, we advanced a framework that relieves some of this burden and makes vital progress toward addressing the challenges facing our property tax system.”

Ryan has prioritized cutting costs on essential medications, and he continued that work while helping to pass House Bill 1697, known as the Prescription Drug Affordability Act. This legislation will make progress in the effort to lower the price of vital medications by cutting out unnecessary middlemen that pad prices for big insurance and pharmaceutical companies at the expense of patients.

“Affordable prescription drugs are not a luxury that patients can live without if the medications get too expensive, they are an essential prerequisite of normal life for many people,” Ryan said. “Cutting costs on vital medications by getting rid of middlemen that are only there to help big insurance corporations pad their profit margins is a step forward for medical equality in Illinois.”