East Central Reporter

State Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) still can’t believe what he was on hand to see up and close in Springfield when it comes to the passage of the state’s new $42 billion budget.

“The first word that comes to mind is unbelievable,” Miller told the East Central Reporter of the bill that is now headed to the desk of Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “With all the stuff going on in this state, where over a million more people are now unemployed because of COVID-19, we pass a budget like this that increases spending while having no plan to get any those people back to work.”

Besides heavily relying on federal funding to plug holes made wider by the ongoing pandemic the plan that sailed through both chambers of the General Assembly during special session also paves the way for borrowing of up to $5 billion from the federal government that theoretically would be repaid with revenues that are only expected to be forthcoming from Washington.

“They spent about $42.8 billion and all the projections of what’s coming in are about $6 billion short of that,” Miller added. “And that’s just what we know, along with the reality of there being no pension reform, which is one of the biggest drivers of some of our greatest problems.”

As perhaps the biggest slap in the face, Miller said he finds it galling beyond belief that for the second straight year lawmakers voted to give themselves a raise, this time for around $1,800.

“They make it impossible for everyone else to go back to work, while they’ve never missed a paycheck, yet they’re still the ones that get the reward,” he said. “It just leaves you with no doubt about Democrats not being concerned about the common man.”

Miller argues that there’s no reason most of the state economy shouldn’t be back up and running at full capacity by now.

“Most of the areas of the state, apart from a couple isolated hotspots, seem well under control and it’s been that way for awhile,” he said. “There’s been no check on this governor and his unconstitutional use of power. I would think the citizens of this state would be beyond angry about everything and now we’ve got this phony budget to add to their concerns.”