For Immediate Release
Contact: Nathan Ryan, 920-445-3920
[email protected]
Illinois Revenue Alliance Statement on Governor Pritzker’s Proposed FY26 Illinois State Budget
CHICAGO — On Wednesday, Governor Pritzker delivered his budget address outlining his proposed budget for FY26. The following is a statement from Illinois Revenue Alliance (previously Fund Our Futures), a coalition of community groups, social and legal service organizations, and labor unions representing many of Illinois’ historically marginalized communities fighting to generate more state revenue from the wealthy to improve the state for everyone.
The state budget is both a moral and a fiscal document that should reflect the priorities of the people of Illinois. The Governor and General Assembly have a critical responsibility at this moment to do all they can to protect Illinoisans in this and subsequent years as an out-of-control federal administration threatens everything our state believes in, seeking nothing less than to destroy our state’s quality of life by taking away resources we need to maintain our values of community, fairness, and opportunity for all — regardless of their race, gender, or where they come from.
Our organizations are committed to fighting for the needs of everyone in our state — including providing healthcare for all, fully funding our public schools, reducing poverty by providing cash assistance to lower-income families, ending homelessness, providing wrap-around services to returning citizens, strengthening our public transit system, supporting immigrant communities, and paying our care workers dignified wages.
Our demands seek to ensure that the next budget enacted addresses Illinois’ budget deficit, protects Illinoisans from incoming attacks from the Trump administration, and meets our communities’ needs. Such a plan requires raising significant revenue by asking the ultra-wealthy and mega-corporations to pay their fair share, not by cutting vital programs for working people already struggling to keep up with the rising costs of food, housing, and healthcare.
Today, we are releasing a set of revenue-generating policy proposals that would help meet this goal.
Too often in Illinois, the needs of our communities are never fully met due to budgetary constraints. Meanwhile, billions of dollars are left on the table as big corporations and the wealthiest are left off the hook while they benefit from Illinois’ public assets, services, and workforce. On the national level, we are witnessing President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in history, and a cabinet filled with other billionaires, threaten programs like Medicaid, SNAP and more, while they secure major tax cuts for the very rich. Illinois must stick to its values. Our leaders must do the opposite of what we see on the national stage by asking those who can afford to contribute more for the common good to do so.
We call on the Governor and General Assembly to protect and support Illinois families by funding programs and taxing the people who hold the majority of our state’s wealth. Our coalition is committed to working with Governor Pritzker, Illinois legislators, and voters to produce the state budget that our residents deserve.
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Illinois Revenue Alliance members include: Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Chicago Teachers Union, Grassroots Collaborative, Healthy Illinois, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, ONE Northside, PEER Illinois, SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, The People’s Lobby, Workers Center for Racial Justice