Rock Island Today

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) is questioning the failure of the state’s Democratic majority to pass a budget by last week’s deadline.

McCombie's comments come after the Illinois General Assembly extended the legislative session after convening on May 20 without a budget. 

“Why start bringing the Democrats in a day or two days or a week before negotiations? We still haven't had even a leaders' meeting, been invited to a leaders meeting,” McCombie told WJPF. “So the governor, you know, he does as well as governors before him, puts that framework in place. Why that doesn't get worked on by the Republicans and the Democrats in the House and the Senate is really beyond me or really the majority party because they have control, so it doesn't have to be this way.” 

McCombie said overspending on healthcare for the undocumented is a big issue. 

“That is certainly a huge piece of it for sure. The combination of no April surprise revenues estimated to be down, the possibility of or the unknown of how deep of a recession it's going to be, the $1.1 billion of the undocumented, as well as if they expand it to hit that 19- to 45-year-old group of undocumented,” McCombie said. “That's going to add an additional $380 million. Remember that the $1.1 billion that we're having to deal with today was only estimated at $220 million. So we've got a huge spread right there of that we're going to have to figure. On top of that, though, you have the possibility of up to $300 million for the AFSCME contract negotiations as well as another thing they're not considering is the 20% increase to hospitals as well. So it certainly is, this is I would say that the most talked about piece because of their lack of Illinois citizen status. So that certainly gives a lot of play there.” 

The budget was scheduled to be passed by Friday, May 19 at midnight. The General Assembly has until May 31 to pass a budget prior to the upcoming fiscal year that ends June 30. Democrats sent notice to legislators on Friday that the session was being extended regarding the $50 billion budget negotiations. Legislators will next be in session May 24-26 when a final budget is expected.

Revenue has dropped significantly for the state, which saw a loss of $1.8 million since last year. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reported the state’s income tax saw a significant decrease in 2022 accounting for the plummeting state revenues. 

"Things are still going OK. It’s just that the performance in fiscal year '22 was so sensational or exceptional, that it was just difficult for us to have that same result in fiscal ‘23," Eric Noggle, revenue manager for the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, told Fox News.

One point of contention is spending over Medicaid for migrants. The program takes up nearly $1 billion of the projected budget of $50 billion, Peoria Standard reported. The program is for those aged 42 and older. Democratic lawmakers sought to lower that bar to those 19 years old and older in the session but failed.

Also in question is the future of the Invest in Kids Act. The tax credit scholarship program allows for donors to receive a tax benefit for donating to a state-maintained scholarship program for private schools for low-income families. The fund, which provides backing for around 9,000 children to attend private schools, is set to sunset on Dec. 31 if not extended by the General Assembly. 

Republican legislators wrote a letter advocating for the continuation of the program. 

“We the undersigned members of the Illinois General Assembly are expressing our support of the extension of the ‘Invest in Kids’ Scholarship Fund,” the GOP General Assembly signatories wrote. “This is a shared priority of both caucuses which benefits the education of underprivileged children. We look forward to the sunset of this program being extended.”