SPRINGFIELD, IL… State Representative Regan Deering (R-Decatur) issued the following statement regarding the passage of the FY 26 Illinois State Budget. The budget spends a near-record $55.2 billion, paid for by $1 billion in new taxes. The Democrats-only budget spends nearly $2 billion more than the previous year’s budget.
“The FY26 budget is filled with more taxes, higher costs, and fewer opportunities for hard-working Illinoisans,” said Rep. Deering. “This near-record spending budget continues the downward tax-and-spend spiral that has caused disastrous financial results for the state and its overburdened taxpayers.”
“We don’t need a bigger government; we need a better one,” continued Deering. “We don’t need more spending; we need real reform. We don’t need more promises; we need to see results. Instead of focusing on how to improve Illinois, Democrats have increased spending, hiked taxes by $1 billion, and provided zero reform—no property tax reform, no structural reform, and certainly no ethics reform.”
“In the real world, when money runs out, you prioritize, stretch, and reform your spending habits, but not in Springfield,” Deering said. “In the six years Governor Pritzker has been in office, the Illinois budget has grown by 38%, putting Illinois families on the hook for $15 billion in additional state spending. This isn’t compassion, it’s failure. The state of Illinois needs to take a good, hard look at our priorities, and ensure that we are focusing on our constituents, not on pork projects and pay hikes for politicians.”
“We need a truly balanced budget, not one that banks on hopeful revenue streams,” concluded Deering.
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