Governor Rauner: "We need a balanced budget. Now."

The following is an excerpt of an op-ed published in Crain’s Chicago Business by Governor Rauner:

The people of Illinois deserve prompt bipartisan action to solve problems and get good things done—to make Illinois more competitive so we can be more compassionate, to enact truly balanced budgets along with reforms that grow our economy and protect taxpayers. By working together we can fundamentally improve the future for the people of Illinois through term limits, lower property taxes and more jobs.

[…] In order to ensure our schools remained open and state government operations continued, we worked out a bridge funding plan to get us past the election. While a short-term fix was not our preferred option—we wanted that grand bargain—in the spirit of compromise we accepted the commitment from Democratic leaders that we would negotiate a solution following the election. This election is in the past, and it's now time to focus on the future together. [….]

We must include reforms that the people of Illinois are calling for—economic reform to spur job growth, education reform to ensure that every child has access to a quality education, political reform to return power back to the people, property tax reform to give homeowners and business owners much needed relief, and pension reform to get our state's financial footing back on the right track.

Illinois is on an unsustainable path, and simply raising taxes to attempt a balanced budget will not solve our long-term structural deficits. […] We must increase our growth rate for jobs and lower spending in government. We should do that not by focusing primarily on cuts to human services, but by curbing the cost of our government bureaucracy.

We must pass a budget that protects our students and most vulnerable, but it must be balanced and not rely solely upon major tax hikes on Illinois families and job creators who already have the fifth-highest tax burden in the nation. […]

Article continues after sponsor message

Republicans cannot do this by themselves, nor can Democrats. […] as the Legislature returns to Springfield, let's move past the campaign. We need a balanced budget. We need reforms. Now is the time to move forward together.

More like this:

Illinois House Hopefuls Talk Taxes, Education, Economic Development

Sep 27, 2026

Madison County Clerk Race, Data Center Questions Highlight November 2026 Ballot

Oct 21, 2026

St. Louis Leaders Propose Overhaul Of City’s Civil Service System

Oct 15, 2026

Raoul Says Federal Poll Monitors Cannot Interfere With Illinois Elections

5 days ago

Godfrey Trustees Dedicate $3 Million From Reserves To Address Flooding

Oct 7, 2026