The Illinois House produced tons of legislation Saturday in an overtime workday, producing a $39.9 billion budget, a $45 billion state construction program, and billions of dollars in new taxes and fees to fund it, from a doubled gasoline tax to a leviathan expansion of gambling.
Democrats, who control every facet of state government, led the way with cooperation from minority Republicans, who acknowledged the budget is balanced, were gratified to get business-building and job-creation incentives and recognized the need to pay for fixing roads, schools, prisons and other public works ignored for years.
“This state is uniquely situated in our country,” GOP Rep. Tim Butler of Springfield said during debate over doubling the gasoline tax to 38 cents a gallon. “We are a leader in transportation, but our infrastructure is crumbling. We have to re-invest, people.”
Lawmakers went past the Friday deadline for adjourning their spring session, in part because of the hours of debate consumed by historic votes. They approved asking voters to decide in next year’s election whether to change the state Constitution to allow replacing a flat-rate income tax with a graduated one based on income. And Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he will sign a law to make Illinois the 11th state to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
