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McCombie said affordability cannot be just a political buzzword.
“If Democrats were serious about real affordability, they
wouldn’t be focused on growing government revenue through higher
taxes, they would be focused on growing Illinois’ tax base,”
McCombie said.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said
recently that state lawmakers would be focused on affordability
issues during the 2026 legislative session.
House members held their first official meetings of the year on
Tuesday and Wednesday. The Illinois Senate reconvened last week
before adjourning until Feb. 3.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker held a roundtable discussion in Chicago on
Tuesday and thanked participants for sharing stories about the
impact of federal policies.
“The uncertainty and the actual funding being cut seem like
they’re just having enormously deleterious effects on everyone,
so I wanted to acknowledge that,” Pritzker said.
The governor said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
and other federal initiatives can’t be fixed at the state level.
“SNAP is a good example, where it’s 100% federally funded,”
Pritzker said, adding that SNAP is a multi-billion-dollar
program.
Pritzker said President Donald Trump’s policies have been
“destructive.”
Elik said Illinois is in trouble because of poor decisions by
those in power at the state level.
Elik said Democratic Party policies are driving residents to
find lower taxes and greater opportunities out of state.
“We see it every day in our border districts. People know that
they can move just across the river and pay less for gas,
groceries and property taxes, and many are making that choice,”
Elik said.
Elik said Missouri lawmakers are working to eliminate the state
income tax.
“That’s what leadership looks like,” Elik said.
Elik said Republicans were hopeful last fall, when Pritzker
issued an executive order directing state agencies to find waste
or redundancies.
“Instead, when we sought answers about their work through a
(Freedom of Information Act) request, that request was denied.
That’s not reform. That’s avoidance and political theater using
official executive orders,” Elik said.
Elik said Illinois ranks last in fiscal transparency and earned
an “F” from Truth in Accounting.
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