Central Illinois lawmakers supported investment into generating more energy, but have concerns about higher education funding in Gov. J B. Pritzker's annual budget address.
Pritzker, speaking at the Capitol in Springfield on Wednesday, proposed a 1% increase for higher education funding, a tax on social media companies and a two-year pause on data center tax credits.
Democratic State Sen. Dave Koehler, representing Peoria and Bloomington-Normal, supports Pritzker’s budget proposal, including the 1% increase in funding for higher education.
Koehler said some constituents might want more funding for higher education, but with a tight budget this year, not every program will get the funding it wants or needs.
“They're not all going to get what is really, truly needed because we can't afford that, but they're going to get what we can prioritize as a major piece of this budget,” Koehler said.
Pritzker proposed creating a monthly fee for every Illinois user on a social media platform, saying the revenue would go to K-12 education.
“If social media giants are going to feed off of Illinois families, they ought to support Illinois families,” Pritzker said.
Koehler supports the fee and more regulations on social media because of concerns about addictive algorithms.
“I think that social media has become a big factor in our, you know, culture, in our everyday life, and they ought to be fairing their fair share as well,” he said.
Hauter reaction
Republican State Rep. Bill Hauter, representing an area between Peoria, Bloomington-Normal and Decatur, opposes a fee on social media companies, saying Illinois needs to stop coming up with new taxes.
“Their solution is to find new and creative ways to take other people's money, and that's not what we need. So it's very concerning to me that we continue to try to take Illinois money,” Hauter said.
Hauter said Illinois needs to cut down on taxes that would make Illinois more affordable for Illinois residents. Pritzker should focus more on cutting spending and finding waste in the Illinois government, he said.
“We continue to see spending going up, taxes going up. So it's a tax-and-spend budget. Once again,” Hauter said.
Hauter said he agrees with the two-year freeze on data center tax credits and the ban on cell phones in K-12 schools.
Chung reaction
Democratic Rep. Sharon Chung, representing Bloomington-Normal, said she agreed with the Pritzker’s proposed budget, but wants further discussions on whether the higher education budget can be increased.
“When we're trying to tout the great achievements that our higher education institutions have done in educating Illinois students, trying to prevent the out-migration of people, and when we only give them 1%, that is a cause for concern on my end,” Chung said.
She agreed Illinois has a tight budget this year, but higher education should be a priority.
Chung said she also agrees with Pritzker about how federal cuts are affecting programs Illinois relies on, adding even with the cuts, it's important the state budget stays balanced.
“I do want to make sure that we are able to craft a budget that our state is living within our means, to be able to serve the people who need it the most without doing any sort of broad tax hikes,” she said.
Chung said the fees on social media still need to be debated because she has questions about how Illinois would only tax users in Illinois.
Balkema reaction
Republican State Sen. Chris Balkema, who represents a large rural area between Bloomington-Normal and Interstate 80, said the federal government is doing a great job for the economy.
He supports continued support for nuclear power and increasing Illinois’ energy production.
“We need to make sure we've got enough power to provide those data centers and provide all the power for the houses, the new houses we need,” Balkema said. “We need hundreds of thousands of new houses so that we can drive prices down.”
Balkema said he was concerned about the amount of spending in the budget, adding Illinois should focus on cutting spending.
Pritzker said Illinois was going to pause tax credits for data centers because they are a big consumer of energy.
“With the shifting energy landscape, it is imperative that our growth does not undermine affordability and stability for our families,” Pritzker said.
Balkema said Illinois needs to continue to find ways to lower energy costs for homeowners and make sure Illinois is generating enough power.
He supports a ban on cell phones in school, but opposes increased funding for education, saying schools should work with the budgets they already have.
“I applauded the governor's address today with taking cell phones out of classrooms. I agree with that," he said. "I think it's better for the kids to focus on school, but we've got a lot of opportunities to improve public education, and it doesn't always take more money.”
Balkema also said Illinois should find ways to increase test scores without increasing taxes.
“Taxing some of the social media may not be the best solution. I'm usually not in favor of any new taxes,” he said.
Balkema opposes Pritzker’s proposal for a social media fee to fund schools and any increase in taxes, adding Illinois should work with the money it already is getting.
