Tryon Tells of GOP’s Inclusion in Budget Talks

A press release from State Rep. Mike Tryon:

Rep. Tryon Votes in Favor of Balanced Budget

Springfield…..Today legislators in the Illinois House of Representatives took a dramatic step forward by passing the first budget in years that actually forces the state to live within its means and actually reduces spending from current year levels.

Mike Tryon

“Several key budget votes occurred today which will finally put Illinois on the path toward financial solvency and help to ensure that the temporary tax increase remains temporary,”

said Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake). “Legislators showed real fiscal discipline, and said in a loud bipartisan voice ‘we can’t spend money we don’t have.’”

According to Tryon, this year marked the first time in many years that members of both parties were included in budget talks.

“Members from both sides of the aisle worked together reviewing the budget line-by-line in an effort to eliminate waste, find efficiencies, and minimize the pain,” he said. “We started by cutting pay raises and administrative costs wherever possible.”

Tryon said members of the House passed many bills and resolutions that set the stage for a balanced budget. They include:

  • House Resolution 110: set a conservative estimate of revenues that would guide appropriations talks
  • House Resolution 156: establishes the percentage of general revenue funds each appropriations committee would have available to work with as budgets were developed
  • House Resolution 158: mandated that that any surplus revenues this year would be used to pay of the backlog of unpaid state bills
  • House Bills 116, 117, 132, 3639 and 3697: fund the statutorily mandated pension payment, bond debt service payments and group insurance payment for state employees

The budget bills approved on Friday spend nearly $1.6 billion less than Governor Quinn’s proposed budget projection of $35.4 billion, which relied on higher taxes and borrowing to support.

“I certainly hope that my colleagues in the Senate and Governor Quinn will join the members of the House in passing into law what I consider to be the first responsible budget in many years.”


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *