Gov. JB Pritzker signed the state’s operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Wednesday, marking the first spending plan of his second term as governor.
The $50.4 billion spending plan anticipates about $50.6 billion in revenues for the fiscal year that begins July 1, making for a projected surplus of roughly $183 million, according to the governor’s office. That revenue estimate would be slightly below or roughly equal to what’s collected in tax revenues for the current year, depending on June’s final revenue collections.
The bill signing’s venue, typically chosen to highlight an important aspect of the budget, was the Belmont Cragin campus of Christopher House in Chicago, a charter school that mostly serves low-income Hispanic families.
The signing was attended by a who’s who of state Democrats, with the governor, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and various members of the legislature’s Democratic leadership and budget negotiation teams.
Several of them highlighted the budget’s investments in education.
“Birth-to-five services and kindergarten readiness are the foundation for the rest of our children’s educational experiences,” Pritzker said.
