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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will deliver his annual State of the State address from Springfield at 12 p.m. Wednesday, where he's expected to lay out his prioritizes for the next legislative session.
Folks, I'm delivering the 2025 State of the State and Budget Address on Feb 19 at 12 PM CT.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) February 14, 2025
I’ll be discussing what we’ve done together to demonstrate fiscal responsibility, deliver for working families, and set up Illinois for success.
Mark your calendars. pic.twitter.com/59jNzhvKsl
Pritzker is also expected to address how he will address a budget deficit of approximately $3.2 billion for fiscal year 2026.
According to estimates released in November by the Illinois Office of Management and Budget, the state had a projected $3.2 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2026, with the expiration of federal COVID funding and increased allocations for K-12 education and pension payments making up a significant amount of that projected deficit.
In a press release detailing the projected deficit, state officials cautioned that Illinois’ “ability to fund new programs will be severely limited,” and that lawmakers would have to consider a variety of steps to close the projected deficit.
It is expected that potential federal funding reductions by the administration of President Donald Trump could also have serious impacts on the state’s budget in coming years.
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The Illinois Constitution requires lawmakers to pass balanced budgets, meaning that some combination of spending cuts, increased revenues and borrowing could be implemented to address the shortfall.
Illinois has also steadily seen its tax revenues increase in recent years, but the OMB’s projections for fiscal year 2026 accounted for mostly flat rates of revenue at roughly $53 billion. That, coupled with the increasing cost of covering healthcare programs and pension payments, were a driving force behind roughly half of the projected deficit in the OMB report.
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Pritzker is expected to address those issues during his speech in Springfield, with Republican lawmakers and several different caucuses of Democratic lawmakers also expected to react to the address Wednesday afternoon.
