This Wednesday, Gov. Pritzker will give his State of the State and Budget Address at noon. So, it’s a good time to look at his budget address from last year and do a bit of fact-checking.
State Rep. Chris Miller looked back at Pritzker’s Speech from 2023 and then projected what the half-truths and outright lies would be this year.
“We all heard Pritzker’s State of the State Address speech last year, and now look where we’re at as a state. The broken promises by Democrats continue to mount as our state carries the weight of poor public policies. This has to stop. Illinois could be a leader to neighboring states, but unfortunately we have a government that works through executive orders and overspending on pork projects. We heard the lies last year, and we will hear them again on February 21st, 2024, as the Governor’s Budget and State of the State Address begins at noon. Don’t be fooled by the radical Democrats and what they consider beneficial to Illinois residents.”
Here are the lies we should expect to hear (according to State Rep. Miller):
Dovetailing off Miller’s idea, I thought it would be important to take actual lines from Pritzker’s 2023 address and comment on what he conveniently left out.
Here is a list of just 10 statements made in his 2023 address and my comments about his comment. This speech was his first in-person State of the State/Budget Address since COVID.
1. What Pritzker Said – “We balanced the budget {during COVID}”
What Pritzker Left Out – At the start of COVID, Senate President Don Harmon asked for $42 billion from the federal government to help Illinois deal with the fallout. The request was laughed at. Then, Illinois was the only state to borrow from a special federal fund to cover expenses. Only because of federal money was Pritzker able to balance his budget. But, even then, none of his budgets are balanced because pensions are underfunded by $5 billion every year based on actuarial standards.
2. What Pritzker Said – “$4.5 billion Unemployment Trust Fund debt? Paid.”
What Pritzker Left Out – No mention of the over $5 BILLION in unemployment fraud, that the debt was accumulated because he shut down the economy for much longer than other states, and that he used a combination of federal COVID money and higher taxes on employers to pay it off.
3. What Pritzker Said – “We have used our surpluses to chip away at our long term liabilities too, including $500 million more into our pension stabilization fund over the last two years”
What Pritzker Left Out – Net pension liabilities increased $5.7 billion or 4% from fiscal year 2022 (https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/__media/sites/comptroller/FY23InterimACFR.pdf)
4. What Pritzker Said – “…improving education and making college more affordable, modernizing our transportation systems, improving public safety and assisting law enforcement to make our neighborhoods safer, reducing homelessness and increasing mental healthcare, cutting taxes and fees on small businesses, attracting new businesses, giving more state revenue to local governments and schools so they can stop raising your property taxes,…”
What Pritzker Left Out –
College was made more affordable for poor students due to increased taxpayer grants not due to lowering college costs
He spent millions on charging stations for EVs, bike lanes, and public transit that has not recovered to its pre-pandemic levels
The public does not feel safer
Funds that should be used for the homeless are going to migrant care
Small businesses have seen increased costs from increased regulation including on minimum wages and paid time off
We lost businesses, office vacancy is at record highs in Chicago
Property taxes collected for schools have increased every year for the last twenty years, as this report shows. If anyone’s property taxes went down, it isn’t due to school districts’ operational levy being flat.
5. What Pritzker Said – “Every year, an international organization based in London evaluates and chooses the world’s best schools. In 2022, Chicago’s Curie High School, a public school on the Southwest side of Chicago, was one of just five schools in the world to earn this ranking — and it was the only one chosen in North America. By melding great academics with an exceptional arts program, along with individualized mental and social-emotional support, Curie High School students are given the resources they needed to thrive.”
What Pritzker Left Out – According to ISBE data, at Curie High School, only 11 percent of students can read at grade level, and only 10 percent can do math at grade level. https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=trends&Schoolid=150162990250617
6. What Pritzker Said – “Smart Start Illinois will save taxpayers $7 for every dollar invested and will vault Illinois to national leadership in early childhood development.”
What Pritzker Left Out – There is zero proof that preschool will lead to cost savings. Actually, a new study shows that preschool may actually be detrimental to child development and achievement. Read this article from Real Clear Education.
7. What Pritzker Said – “Illinois was named the number one state in our region for workforce development.”
What Pritzker Left Out – While not a direct comparison, Illinois’ unemployment rate was 4.5% in February 2023, the sixth highest in the nation and much higher than other states in our region. You can develop the workforce, but if they can’t get a job or won’t take a job, then it doesn’t help workers support themselves. Training workers already employed should be something employers do, and the cost is then a tax deduction.
8. What Pritzker Said – “We’ve beefed up support for law enforcement to reduce crime.”
What Pritzker Left Out – Tell that to CPD and to victims of carjackings that set records in 2023.
9. What Pritzker Said – “DCFS and DHS are on the frontlines of caring for our most vulnerable children, it will take a whole of government, inter-agency approach to truly provide the care our children deserve.”
What Pritzker Left Out – In October 2023, the DCFS director resigned “after another scathing audit of the agency was published last week, finding that in recent decades, DCFS repeatedly violated state laws meant to protect children from abuse and neglect.” Read this Capitol News Illinois story.
10. What Pritzker Said – “…we are establishing a Reproductive Health Public Navigation Hotline, so patients can call ahead for a risk assessment and find the services that will meet their needs. From transportation and lodging to insurance coverage options, the hotline will help patients traverse a complex and overwhelmed system.”
What Pritzker Left Out – He set aside $18 million of infrastructure money from the doubling of gas taxes to pay for an abortion hotline and travel expenses for women coming to Illinois for an abortion.