Following Governor Pritzker’s joint State of the State and Budget Address, State Representative Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) issued the following response:
“I was glad the Governor addressed improving the climate for job creation. Illinois can, and should, once again be the economic powerhouse of the Midwest. His proposal to improve access to childcare to make it easier for families to work could help us achieve these goals, and I’m interested to see the details.
“However, I have concerns about increasing state spending by nearly $3 billion when he has not offered proposals to improve accountability or address longstanding structural problems like procurement and personnel shortages. I also worry about rolling out new programs with long-term costs when we still have areas we need to shore up. Ultimately, we risk seeing tax revenues drop when inflation eventually settles down. We should focus on fully funding the needs of existing programs, especially those for seniors and adults with disabilities before we go about spending money on new programs.
“Finally, I would have liked to see the Governor talk more about the responsiveness of his administration to the citizens of Illinois. I’ve heard a constant drum beat of complaints that the basic services and response expected from our state haven’t been met, whether we are talking about unemployment, DCFS, health care programs or senior services. We need to be sure we see the people of Illinois as our customers when delivering the services they’ve been taxed to pay for.”
Rep. Keicher serves the 70th District, which includes portions of DeKalb, Kane, and McHenry Counties.