Sangamon Sun

State Representative Martin McLaughlin, alongside his Republican colleagues in the House, has reviewed Governor Pritzker's state budget proposal with a focus on cutting spending they consider wasteful or inappropriate. They have scrutinized the budget line by line, aiming to redirect priorities.

"Like the federal government, the State of Illinois doesn’t have a revenue problem, we have a priorities problem," said McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills). He emphasized their plan to realign these priorities after a detailed review of the budget.

Governor Pritzker earlier proposed a $55 billion FY 2026 budget, marking it as the largest in state history. Rep. McLaughlin suggested significant savings could be achieved by eliminating funding for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and reverting to previous budget levels.

“Too many NGOs are getting taxpayer dollars that should instead be funding services our families and seniors truly need,” Rep. McLaughlin stated. He expressed concern over the lack of oversight and transparency regarding NGO spending.

“Often taxpayer funding for a single NGO is spread out over five or six line items in separate sections of the Democrats’ 3,000 + page budget. Each may not seem that large, but when you track them all down and add them together it’s a lot of money that can be put to better use elsewhere,” McLaughlin added.

Rep. McLaughlin also commented on the state's financial trajectory under Governor Pritzker: “The bottom line is this: Since Governor Pritzker took office families and businesses have been fleeing our state, yet budget spending and taxes have continued to increase year after year. Illinoisans are paying more money for fewer and fewer actual state services." He called for comprehensive scrutiny from all members of the General Assembly regarding current spending practices.