IL Freedom Caucus Says Illinois in a Precarious Financial Position
IL Freedom Caucus Says Illinois in a Precarious Financial Position (Springfield, IL) — The Illinois Freedom Caucus says Illinois is speeding toward a fiscal cliff without the safety net of COVID-19 relief funds, a situation the Democratic majority knew was coming but subsequently ignored:
The Governor just recently had a moment of fiscal conscience and issued a memo in which he stated: “We must prepare to implement a potential balanced budget scenario with $800 million less in available revenue.” The Governor then goes on to basically threaten legislators and agencies by taking away member initiatives and grant projects by saying “as your agency prepares for the impact of $800 million in potential spending reductions, please focus on grant programs and other discretionary spending that has increased in recent years.”
The Governor went on to state, “keep in mind that the end of access to federal ARPA funds make it impossible to sustain many programs without additional revenue.”
“We hate to say ‘we told you so’ but we told you so. We have been warning about the financial implications of the ARPA funds running out and these warnings were ignored. Instead, we have been labeled ‘Carnival Barkers’ and other derogatory names.
Instead of raising taxes, we need to be looking at ways to reduce spending. One place to start is to stop spending money we don’t have on programs and services for illegal immigrants. We need to end the state’s Sanctuary State policies and stop trying to solve a problem we are not equipped to solve. There is more than $629 million in the Governor’s budget allocated for these programs. It is time to stop virtue signaling with taxpayer money. If the Democrats really cared about the priorities they have set for themselves then they would have had heeded our warnings and took steps to prepare for the fact the federal money propping up our budget would one day not be there. But they didn’t. Instead, they went on a spending spree and surprise, surprise there is no money. Call us what you like, but we prefer the term realists because we are the only ones focused on solving the financial realities facing our state.”
IL Freedom Caucus Says Illinois in a Precarious Financial Position
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