Rock Island Today

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner delivered his much-anticipated fiscal year 2017 budget address Wednesday from the State Capitol.

Rauner began his address by bluntly stating just how devastating the budget stalemate has been on Illinois and emphasizing that a tax hike will not solve the state’s financial crisis.

Illinois has been operating without a budget since July 1, resulting in many spending cuts across the state.

In his address, the Republican governor encouraged lawmakers to work together to create “real reform” that will create jobs and savings for taxpayers. Rauner also told legislators to stop sending spending plans that will be vetoed, stating that more jobs will translate to more people working and, ultimately, more people paying taxes.

House District 71 Republican candidate Tony McCombie said she hopes the legislature follows the governor’s leadership and works together in the “spirit of compromise and bipartisanship.”

“As stated in his address, we have had an unsustainable unbalanced budgets for two decades,” McCombie said. “The continuation of this practice is indeed unacceptable, and we can no longer afford the status quo.”

McCombie said she is running for office to support the citizens to lower the cost of government while generating economic growth through common-sense approaches.  

“I will always put the citizens first, before my political party, donors or special interest groups to protect their best interest,” McCombie said. "I will support and work with any governor or elected official who will work to reform our state government, invest in our children’s education and ensure a better quality of living for Illinoisans." 

State Rep. Mike Smiddy (D-Hillsdale), who currently holds the seat McCombie is vying for, said the governor’s speech was “long on insults and short on content, regarding the Democrats.”

“I think that’s the wrong direction to go," Smiddy said. "I believe we need to have compromise, to sit down and talk about things. But none of the plans that he did talk about had funding sources of any type. I think we are right back where we were seven months ago.”