House Democrats expected to vote on $53.1B budget as Republicans complains of overspending

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois House geared up Tuesday night to vote on a $53.1 billion state budget but planned to work into Wednesday to get the job done.

Legislative leaders expected that the House would adopt the plan which the Senate OK’d Sunday night. It’s $400 million more than Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed in February and raises taxes and makes other tax code changes to generate $1.2 billion to fund it.

“This budget is balanced, responsible and fair,” House Speaker Pro Tempore Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Peoria Democrat, told the Executive Committee. “It invests in children, it invests in infrastructure, it also invests in our most vulnerable.”

Even though the Legislature has gone beyond its self-imposed adjournment deadline of May 24, lawmakers don’t expect conclusion until early Wednesday because of constitutional requirements on the number of days that legislation must be read publicly.

Republicans complained that Democrats, who control the Legislature, are spending beyond their means and not preparing for what many predict are lean years ahead. Deputy House Republican Leader Norine Hammond of Macomb said she found at least $1 billion in spending that would be pushed off to the following fiscal year.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Taiwan’s legislature passes changes seen as favoring China, reducing president’s power </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Massachusetts Senate weighs tuition-free community college