“Our plan is the best of a bad situation, and it provides more than the House’s alternative – even though it still lacks funding in some areas. I won’t stop negotiating until I feel comfortable that the budget does not place an unfair burden on the people who rely on our state’s most vital services, like education and human services.” – State Senator Toi Hutchinson
SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Senate this evening sent their own budget plan to the Illinois House that falls within the conservative $33.719 billion revenue estimate agreed upon by both chambers earlier this year.
State Senator Toi Hutchinson (D-Chicago Heights), who serves as chair of the Senate Revenue committee, supported the plan with some reservations – specifically the lack of funding for Dwight Correctional Facility and education as well as only partial funding for Tinley Park Mental Health Center; but she said the Senate’s work is not finished.
“Although this was not an ideal plan, I supported it with the mindset that we will continue to negotiate with the House until a final budget agreement is reached. The passage of this plan sends a message to the other chamber what our core priorities are here in the Senate,” Hutchinson said. “Our plan is the best of a bad situation, and it provides more than the House’s alternative – even though it still lacks funding in some areas. I won’t stop negotiating until I feel comfortable that the budget does not place an unfair burden on the people who rely on our state’s most vital services, like education and human services.”
Hutchinson also used this plan as an opportunity to reaffirm her commitment to updating Illinois’ outdated tax code to provide a steady revenue stream for school funding.
“We have an unfair, out-of-date tax system in Illinois. We’re using a 1900’s tax code for a twenty-first century economy,” Senator Hutchinson said. “We have to make some fundamental changes to the tax code, otherwise, we will continue to find ourselves back in this situation.”
“We don’t have a normal funding mechanism for schools. We are way too over-reliant on property taxes and the students and homeowners are paying the price,” Hutchinson added.