Inside Illinois’ biggest budget ever: What’s funded, and where the money is coming from

From left: state Sen. Elgie Sims, Senate Pres. Don Harmon, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch watch Gov. J.B. Pritzker sign Illinois’ sixth balanced budget during a news conference at the Office of the Governor’s press room in the West Loop, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Courtesy of Pat Nabong / Chicago Sun-Times

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Inside Illinois’ biggest budget ever: What’s funded, and where the money is coming from

Illinois’ new state budget levies money from sportsbooks, retailers, and corporations, and invests it in education, pensions, and the migrant crisis.

From left: state Sen. Elgie Sims, Senate Pres. Don Harmon, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch watch Gov. J.B. Pritzker sign Illinois’ sixth balanced budget during a news conference at the Office of the Governor’s press room in the West Loop, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Courtesy of Pat Nabong / Chicago Sun-Times

Pat Nabong / Chicago Sun-Times

By Jules Yaeger

Illinois just passed its biggest budget ever, surpassing $50 billion in state spending for the next fiscal year. Governor JB Pritzker touts the budget’s advantages for families, with funding in areas like education, the child services department, and the state’s first ever child tax credit.

But opponents of the budget say it’s excessive, critique its provisions for migrants new to the state, and disapprove of the expensive revenue measure needed to fund it.

Reset learns more about the budget specifics and what residents need to know.

GUESTS: Mawa Iqbal, WBEZ statehouse reporter

Mitch Armentrout, Chicago Sun-Times politics reporter