So, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has nobody but himself to blame for this one: he opened the book and pointed to a fairy tale as he presented his fiscal year 2026 state budget.
“There is a whole industry of backseat bellyachers in this state and around the country who make a profession out of rhetorically tearing down Illinois and suggesting that if we would just enact one of their magic-bean fixes we would never face another difficult budget year,” Pritzker said Feb. 19. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned as governor – there are no magic-bean fixes.”
Sorry, governor, but some of us backseat bellyachers believe in magic beans and know the story of “J.B. and the Beanstalk” ends with an ax.
You see, Illinois has a massive spending problem that grows and grows every year, reaching the sky. Pritzker wants to spend $55.2 billion in the fiscal year starting July 1, which is $2 billion more than the current fiscal year and $16.7 billion more than before he landed in the enchanted city of Springfield.
He wants to spend $78 million in 2026 to boost state worker pensions for those hired after 2010. State lawmakers put new employees on a generous yet curtailed pension system called Tier 2, because the overly-generous benefits handed to older workers were bankrupting the state. Government unions have pushed to boost Tier 2 and now they have some state lawmakers, whom they support with generous campaign contributions, ready to use a potential problem with a federal rule to make the change.
Trouble is, no one has studied whether Illinois really is violating the rule, which says public pensions must at least be as generous as Social Security. So Pritzker and some in the Statehouse are ready to fix something we don’t know is a problem by spending an unknown amount of taxes that experts project will add $13 billion in benefits.
Adding benefits when state leaders already have taxpayers liable for $143.7 billion in unmet pension debt is just foolish as well as irresponsible.
Pritzker’s other issue is guessing at how much money he can spend. The governor’s own prognosticators in November said Pritzker faced a $3 billion deficit and no revenue growth. Next, Pritzker delivers his budget Feb. 19 and magically finds $1.5 billion in extra state revenues. Then the lawmakers’ crystal ball says, “outlook not so good.” In late February they said Pritzker’s budget might be as much as $1.2 billion in the hole, depending on whether his plan for delinquent tax collections, shorting the road fund and boosting gambling taxes all work out.
Pritzker refused to call $100 million in higher gambling taxes a tax hike. He calls it “revenue enhancement.” His euphemism and other gimmicks are all so he can publicly declare he’s not raising taxes. But when the gloomy predictions come true, he’s short on cash and needs more, where will the money come from?
Likely from the same place it always comes from in Pritzkerland: you, and higher taxes.
Pritzker’s string of record-setting budgets have repeatedly been propped up by tax hikes. His first three years brought $5.24 billion in higher taxes and fees. This year’s spending is supported by more than $1.1 billion in tax hikes. All those new taxes, yet between 2000 and 2022 spending on core services dropped 20%, when adjusted for inflation, as total state spending increased by 21%.
Now for the magic-bean fixes.
Bean 1. Tie state spending to the state’s gross domestic product. Had Illinois done so in 2019, we’d already have saved $27 billion, including $6 billion for the current fiscal year.
Bean 2. Get state worker health benefits under control. Pritzker in 2019 handed state unions health coverage worth $3.6 billion more than he had to. They enjoy benefits most working stiffs cannot get and pay for 16% of the cost while taxpayers average 42% of their own health coverage costs.
Bean 3. Consolidate school district administration. Illinois has about 860 school districts, and about half have only one or two schools. That drives administration costs at the district level to $552 per student – money that never reaches the students in the classroom and is one of the highest rates in the nation. Reducing the excessive number of districts by 25% would cut overhead and save nearly $273 million a year without closing a single school.
Bean 4. Fix Illinois’ government pensions – and stop adding to the problem. The Illinois Constitution has been interpreted as prohibiting any changes to public pensions. The constitution needs to be amended, meaning a statewide vote, to allow control of future growth. An analysis in 2023 showed controlling pension growth could save over $50 billion by 2045. Along with that, state leaders need to stop placating their government union supporters and forget boosting Tier 2 benefits. We can’t afford to grow that $143.7 billion pension debt, which comes out to over $11,300 that each Illinoisan will someday be forced to pay.
There’s no magic involved, but there certainly needs to be brave heroes with the political will to stand up for taxpayers and against government union special interests. And again, this tale ends with mighty swings of a sharp budget ax.
Brad Weisenstein is the managing editor of the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan group working to expand liberties and prosperity in Illinois.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
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