Issue Position: Passing a Balanced Budget that Reflects Our Values

Issue Position

Jennifer believes that Illinois needs to spend responsibly in a way that reflects the shared values of our community. That's why she worked towards and helped pass a responsible, balanced budget with bipartisan support to help stabilize Illinois' finances; fund critical services like education, senior resources, and health care; make a full pension payment; and paying down $1B in backlogged bills accrued under the Rauner administration.

Cuts to education at the state level over the past two decades have led to higher property taxes and fewer opportunities for Illinois' students. In particular, draconian cuts to higher education forced students to out-of-state colleges, where most of them will remain long after they graduate. This costs our state young college graduates, young families, and economic growth. In this budget, we increased education funding to invest in our future and prioritize our state's most valuable asset -- our children.

Jennifer played a key role in the House Appropriations-Human Services budget working group, where she successfully negotiated more investments toward critical programs like Meals on Wheels, autism funding, and addiction treatment. She believes that responsible financial leadership means funding programs that deliver services at lower cost like the Community Care Program, which enables seniors to stay in their homes and live with dignity while spending 80% less than traditional nursing home care.

Jennifer voted to send the question of a fair tax to a direct referendum because she believes Illinois voters should have a voice in our state's tax structure. Jennifer also supported a task force to investigate innovative methods of property tax relief for families being hit hardest by recent increases.

Jennifer knows that the work to address Illinois' structural deficit, grow our economy, and provide opportunities for all Illinoisans requires a long-term focus and commitment to making hard choices to build a stronger Illinois.

We must also address Illinois' unfunded pension liability and not "kick the can down the road" for future generations to deal with. Jennifer supported consolidation of downstate and suburban police and fire pension funds to control administrative costs and take advantage of economies of scale with a larger investment pool. Jennifer supported legislation that consolidated roughly 650 police and fire pensions into two statewide funds, saving on administrative costs. She also supports the expansion of the early pension buyout program to cut long-term expenses.

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