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| Rep. Joe Sosnowski listens to the Governor’s Budget Address |
SPRINGFIELD– Governor Bruce Rauner delivered his annual Budget Address to a joint session of the General Assembly today, emphasizing the need to focus on economic growth and job creation as the way to achieve a sustainable balanced budget that, paired with long-overdue structural reforms, can set the state back on a path toward long-term prosperity and opportunity for every Illinois family.
State Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) called attention to a passage from the Governor’s speech that reflects the grim reality at the root of what has plagued Illinois in recent years:
“For years now, families in Illinois have been voting with their feet. In just six years, we’ve seen a migration loss of more than 540,000 residents. They’re leaving for jobs, higher wages and lower costs of living.
If we had the right policies – if we’d made changes to fix our broken system – if we had just grown our economy at the national average, since 2000, we’d have 650,000 more jobs than we have today…” – Governor Bruce Rauner
“The Governor effectively identified what has been ailing Illinois; and a path forward we can commit to together as Democrats and Republicans to achieve a balanced budget,” Representative Sosnowski said. “Before we can come together to end the current budget impasse, we have to be honest with ourselves and with each other on the realities that have led us to this point, and the options that exist to move Illinois forward in a responsible way.”
Representative Sosnowski also highlighted the emphasis the Governor put on the importance of economic growth as a foundation on which to build a balanced budget. Specifically, the Governor said:
“…we can’t tax our way to prosperity. Nor can we just cut our way to a better future. We must grow our way to the future we want. Growth is the solution. Growth means jobs. Growth means expanding revenues. Growth means the economy expands faster than government spending. Growth means a sustainable future where job creation surges and our schools are the envy of the world…
Illinois residents and job creators are already saddled with the highest property taxes and the 5th highest overall tax burden in the nation. We’ve tried raising taxes to balance the budget before, without making structural changes to control spending and grow the economy. It has never worked. Taxing our way to a balanced budget would only hasten the exodus of jobs and families from Illinois – an unacceptable option for members of both parties.” – Governor Bruce Rauner
Members of the Illinois House of Representatives’ various appropriations committees have already begun holding hearings on budget-related legislation. Representative Sosnowski serves as a member on the House appropriations committee on Elementary & Secondary Education.
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