State Representative Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, issued the following statement today in response to Governor JB Pritzker’s Budget Address to a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly:
“I was encouraged to hear the Governor emphasize higher education, specifically a 5% increase in funding for our state universities and community colleges, as well as an increased commitment of $50 million to the MAP grant program, which would help as many as 15,000 more students afford to attend college. Strengthening our commitment to higher education and investing in college affordability is one area where Democrats and Republicans can find common ground and deliver results. Unfortunately, I was concerned by other aspects of the Governor’s speech, which failed to offer solutions to provide property tax relief or embrace needed reforms to make Illinois a more welcoming place for new job creators to locate or enable existing job creators to grow and thrive. Hopefully the Governor will make room for bipartisan ideas to move the state’s priorities in that direction while we work together to achieve our mutual goals to strengthen NIU, our community colleges and higher education throughout Illinois.”
Representative Keicher serves the 70th District, which includes most of DeKalb County along with portions of western Kane County and eastern Boone County.