The signing caps months of work – and tension – among top Democratic leaders in Springfield and within the governor’s office.
Pritzker said Wednesday the budget is a demonstration of “fiscal responsibility," pointing to the $198 million that will head to the state’s “rainy day” fund, bringing it to a record balance of over $2.2 billion. It will also make the full payment into the state’s pension systems that is required by law.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park flanked Pritzker at the signing alongside Democrats’ chief budget negotiators in the state’s downtown Chicago office building.
Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, the lead budget negotiator for the Senate, pointed to several programs that he said will benefit vulnerable Illinoisans, including a tax credit for low-income families and increased wages for those who work with disabled people.
That tax credit will cost $50 million. Qualifying families with children under age 12 will receive a credit of 20 percent of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit in calendar year 2024 and 40 percent in the following year, which is projected to cost $100 million. Pritzker had proposed such a credit for children up to age three, but lawmakers expanded the credit.
