06/01/2026
As the Trump Administration’s tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans continue to reverberate and threaten essential social services, countless working families across our state are facing an affordability crisis jeopardizing their stable access to food, health care, housing and education. State leaders have a moral responsibility to meet the needs of our constituents and protect the programs and services so many Illinoisans rely on.
This budget includes funding for programs that would help off-set some of the most devastating cuts and provide vital relief for those struggling—including the FRESH benefits program to provide EBT payments to households that lose or have reduced SNAP benefits due to federal work requirements, additional funding for safety net hospitals, and an increase in money for PELL grants for higher education. These measures may serve as a stopgap, but real relief will take far bolder action.
We were also able to secure a funding increase for Direct Service Professionals to address the chronic staffing issues and low wages seen in so many care facilities throughout our state. While this increase is an important step in the right direction, we must do more to ensure the workers caring for the most vulnerable members of our population, such as Community Care Program workers are provided the funding and support they need. I remain committed to working with my colleagues to fight for these workers to receive the compensation they need and deserve.
The budget includes several new sources of revenue meant to offset some of the most devastating cuts implemented by the federal government’s policies, including new taxes on digital ads, predicted markets, and social media that are a step forward in forcing large corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share and will bring vital resources back to our communities. There are no new taxes on everyday people.
However, I am disappointed that the budget still falls short of decoupling our tax system from the federal government’s in a way that would substantially insulate our state from the devastation. While other states have made these policy changes to bring more tax dollars home to the working people who need them, Illinois is relying on half-measures that fall short of meeting this critical current moment.
In addition to the budget, the Senate passed several measures to prioritize people over corporate profits and keep generational wealth in the hands of families, not private equity firms, billionaires, or mega corporations, including an initiative I sponsored, House Bill 2783. The bill charges private equity companies a fee for buying up housing supply in bulk and dedicates that money to public housing development and rent assistance programs. This legislation seeks to stabilize housing access for everyday people and keep resources from being hoarded in the hands of wealthy investors at a time when affordability has reached a crisis point.
I remain committed to fighting for working Illinoisans and building policies that allow our citizens to thrive, not merely survive.
