SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – As the House adjourned on Monday, state Rep. Aarón Ortíz, D-Chicago, supported a responsible state budget and several bills to cut costs, bring price transparency and expand support for students.
“Families are stretching their incomes to make ends meet because of out-of-control inflation and Trump’s foreign wars,” Ortíz said. “In Springfield, I advanced common-sense solutions to address the challenges families in my community face, and we made significant progress in delivering relief. We’ve got more to do, but I am proud of the work we accomplished.”
Ortíz’s affordability agenda this session includes:
- Freezing the state gas tax and instituting a sales tax holiday (Senate Bill 3019);
- Making everyday purchases more affordable by requiring grocery stores offer physical coupons with deals equivalent to those offered by digital coupons (House Bill 45);
- Cracking down on AI-powered price gouging and protecting personal information and demographic data from being used to artificially inflate prices (House Bill 4248); and
- Expanding assistance for in-state community college students (House Bill 5135).
Ortíz helped pass a family-first state budget that increases funding for schools, invests in teachers and supports seniors. Ortíz’s budget makes smart investments in resources Washington is working to slash, funding safety net hospitals serving our most vulnerable communities and expanding food security and gas tax relief for families.
“Our state is facing difficult economic times ahead, due in no small part to a president who would rather punish, than help, the people of our state,” Ortíz said. “Despite these trying times, our budget builds on the strong and compassionate fiscal leadership of years prior by continuing to invest in the schools our kids depend on, supporting seniors on fixed incomes and putting more people to work addressing our infrastructure needs.”