Hoffman Calls For Renewed Negotiations on Budget After Reviewing Senate Plan

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – After a comprehensive review of the Senate’s budget proposal, state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Belleville, is calling for renewed negotiations for a balanced and full state budget to help protect vital services and higher education in Illinois.

“After taking time to review the Senate’s proposal for a state budget, it’s not the budget that the people of Illinois deserve,” Hoffman said. “We need a full and balanced budget in our state, and this proposal is not it.  It places an undue burden on middle-class taxpayers and does not provide for a truly balanced budget.”

Hoffman is concerned the Senate plan does not close the Rauner budget deficit. Hoffman and House appropriations committees reviewing the budget proposal passed by the Senate have found a number of phantom savings and other budgetary gimmicks that will cost taxpayers in the long run. The Senate proposal would authorize billions of dollars in new borrowing, but does not budget the payments needed to repay this debt. It also assumes savings from a proposed increase to state employee insurance premiums which has not been agreed to by employees themselves.

While Hoffman has fought to restore funding for breast cancer screenings, services for the developmentally disabled and victims of domestic violence, the Senate’s budget plan cuts millions of dollars from these programs.

Hoffman also expressed concern that the Senate’s plan does not appropriate adequate early childhood education funds to meet federal guidelines, failing to properly fund critical services necessary to helping children achieve their full potential. Additionally, the Senate’s proposal contains only a portion of the funding needed to sustain MAP grants, which help 130,000 Illinois students attend college.

“The people of our state want a full and balanced budget that provides real savings for middle class families,” said Hoffman. “We can’t afford a budget built on short-term thinking and phantom savings. I’m calling on Governor Rauner to come back and negotiate with us for a budget that works for everyone in our state and provides real and accountable savings for the state of Illinois.”