State Representative Dan Swanson (R-Alpha) made the following comment after Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker delivered his 2026 State of the State and state budget address Wednesday afternoon in the House chamber at the Illinois Capitol.
“In spite of the Governor’s claims, Illinois’ fiscal problems are not due to recent cuts from Washington. They are the result of year after year of overspending while pursuing policies which drive away job creators. Governor Pritzker just signed into law the biggest spending bill in state history. It broke the spending record he set only one year before. No amount of finger-pointing at Capitol Hill can change the fact that Illinois simply spends too much money. It was good to hear the Governor admit that we need fiscal restraint this year. I hope he follows through as the budget process develops, and I look forward to working with him if he does.
“I liked what the Governor had to say about the need for building new homes. But in our area, the single largest factor in making homeownership affordable is property taxes – something which the Governor did not touch upon at all. Until the General Assembly addresses property taxes and removes red tape affecting our local governments and schools, homeownership won’t be affordable. Forcing local governments to raise property taxes by cutting their funding through the Local Government Distributive Fund– which the Governor proposes to do – will likely make this problem worse, not better.”
71st District residents can find more news about the General Assembly and information about upcoming events on Rep. Swanson’s legislative website at repswanson.com.