Springfield, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday presented a slimmer state budget with no income tax increases. But the budget relies on federal relief from the COVD-19 pandemic, transfers from other funds, and elimination of hundreds of millions of dollars of corporate tax breaks needing legislative approval. The $41.6 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is a 4.2% decrease from its predecessor. The proposal is a far cry from the dire predictions doled out last fall by members of the administration who were campaigning for Pritzker’s top priority, a graduated income tax that hit the wealthy harder.
