Illinois Senate Republicans

02/18/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 02/18/2026 16:27

Senator Balkema Responds to Governor Pritzker’s Budget Proposal

SPRINGFIELD, IL- State Senator Chris Balkema (R-Channahon) released the following statement after Governor Pritzker's Budget Address.

"Over the last six years, the U.S. GDP has grown more than 45 percent. Illinois GDP has grown just over 4 percent. Yet state spending has nearly doubled.

"Illinois is way behind in growth… and spending is out of control.

"We need to create an Illinois where businesses can grow, jobs can expand, and families can stay. That starts by cutting bureaucracy and getting state government out of the way.

"Property taxes are out of control, and this budget does nothing to deliver the relief families were promised. Illinois can do better, but only if we change direction."

Illinois Senate Republicans published this content on February 18, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on February 18, 2026 at 22:27 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]