State Representative Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) issued the following statement after the Democrat majority approved a $42.3 billion unbalanced state budget:
“The House may have new Democrat leadership, however their addiction to spending more and more is nothing new. I voted against this budget as it continues to spend more than our estimated revenue and does not include a plan to pay down Illinois’ massive pension debt. The Democrats even had the nerve to give lawmakers a $1,000 pay raise and earmark $1 billion in pet projects for Democrat districts. A balanced budget is what the people of Illinois deserve. It’s what our next generation deserves. We can’t continue this irresponsible spending. The tough decisions need to be made and, unfortunately, the budget approved today pushes our debt onto future taxpayers.”