State lawmakers offer partisan responses to Pritzker’s budget address

(The Center Square) – Illinois lawmakers are offering mixed reviews of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget address.

Following the governor’s State of the State speech on Wednesday, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said he gives the governor a lot of credit for prioritizing important programs.

“I heard a lot of shared priorities. We’re continuing to invest in public education. The governor is proposing more money for grants for college students,” Harmon said.

State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, reacted to Pritzker’s assertion that the state’s gross domestic product increased from $881 billion when he took office to more than $1.2 trillion.

“Interesting that the governor uses a dollar amount and not the percentage, because the increase is 4% in Illinois. The rest of the country is 40-plus percent,” Bryant said.

Pritzker’s proposed fiscal year 2027 general funds appropriations of $54.8 million represent a decline from $55.2 billion in 2026, but the 20...