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Senate Bill 589, introduced by state Sen. Suzy Glowiak-Hilton,
D-Western Springs, was presented during a subject matter hearing
Wednesday of the Senate Appropriations Revenue and Finance
Committee. The bill would create a spending cap that ties
general revenue appropriations to growth in the median household
income.
Hilton said the bill would allow for predictable, sustainable
growth in state spending without tax hikes.
“It should provide some stability for the state and at least
appear that we are making good responsible decisions in our
spending and protecting our taxpayers as well,” Hilton said.
Thirty-three states have some form of tax or spending limits on
the books, including all of Illinois’ neighbors.
“This is not a red or blue issue or a Republican or Democratic
issue,” said Adam Schuster, senior director of budget and tax
research with the Illinois Policy Institute. There are states
like Oregon and California that have spending caps and there are
also states like Tennessee and Texas, so you see this is both
Republican-dominated states and Democratic-dominated states.”
As of December 2020, Illinois had $5.5 billion in unpaid bills
in addition to the $4.3 billion the state borrowed during the
COVID-19 pandemic. According to the non-profit Truth in
Accounting, the debt burden put taxpayers on the hook to the
tune of $52,000 per person.
Schuster said Illinois has the second-highest debt per taxpayer
in the nation.
“We also have the second most debt relative to the size of our
state economy in the nation at about 26% of our GDP and a major
reason for this is that our state spending has been growing
faster than our taxpayers are able to afford,” Schuster said.
Bryce Hill, senior research analyst for Illinois Policy, said he
is encouraged by the bipartisan measure.
“Everyday Illinoisans understand they cannot spend more than
they take in, and it is time state government plays by the same
rules,” Hill said.
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