Hernandez-Backed State Budget Focuses on Providing Access and Relief for Working Families

AURORA, Ill.— A state budget focused on affordability is now law thanks to state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, who helped pass a balanced budget prioritizing direct relief for Illinoisans and investing in the resources Washington is trying to slash.

“In the last year, working families have struggled to make ends meet and afford daily necessities. Washington continues to cut assistance programs, raise everyday prices and ignore what our communities need,” said Hernandez. “That’s why I am delivering a state budget that provides working families with the access, support and relief they need. Whether it’s investing in schools, funding safety-net hospitals, or creating nutrition assistance programs, our budget makes one thing clear: we’re putting our communities first.”

Hernandez’s work this legislative session concluded in passing a fiscally and socially responsible budget that relieves the cost-of-living crisis while making key investments in food security and other state services at risk of federal funding losses or total elimination. 

The budget takes a number of smart steps to help families make ends meet, including:

• Nearly $100 million to help families afford groceries and put food on the table. As Washington slashes nutrition assistance for more than 100,000 Illinoisans, Hernandez’s budget includes a new FRESH Program, which provides a one-time credit of up to $400, giving families a lifeline while they work with providers to reactivate benefits. Additionally, the Hernandez-backed budget expands free and reduced-cost school lunches ensuring children affected by SNAP cuts have a sustainable meal, and funding for the Illinois Grocery Initiative to expand access to fresh food in food deserts. 

 

• Making back-to-school shopping more affordable by cutting the state sales tax on clothes, supplies, and other essentials for students, families, and teachers beginning in August.

 

• Freezing the gas tax to give families a break at the pump.

 

• Restoring property tax relief grants for schools so communities statewide can get relief. 

 

• $500 million focused on affordable homes for working families, including investment in new home construction to meet the needs of working families who do not qualify for traditional assistance, but still face a significant lack of quality homes in their price range—a growing population known as the “missing middle.”  

 

This budget keeps families safe and strengthens communities. As families face healthcare access threats like Medicaid cuts, the new state budget delivers full funding to maintain and operate critical safety-net hospitals, with an additional $10 million dedicated to support Federally Qualified Health Centers for the most vulnerable families. Public safety initiatives including homelessness prevention and community-based violence prevention will also receive full funding.