Gov. Pritzker set to sign 8th consecutive budget

CHICAGO, Ill. (KFVS) - Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is set to sign the state’s eighth consecutive budget.

Gov. Pritzker will sign the nearly $56 billion budget in Chicago at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16.

The budget is slightly less than what Pritzker proposed in February, though it incorporates key taxes and revenue changes he proposed.

Illinois lawmakers approved the more than 3,700-page spending plan for fiscal year 2027 on June 1, the last day of the regular session.

The Senate passed the spending measure 37-21 and the House passed it with a 76-39 vote. No Republicans voted for the plan.

The governor’s office says this is the eighth consecutive balanced budget for the Pritzker Administration.

The following are highlights of the FY27 budget, according to the governor’s office:

• Motor Fuel Tax Pause: As families face higher costs driven by economic uncertainty and rising energy prices, Illinois is pausing the annual July 1 Motor Fuel Tax increase for six months.
• Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday: Families shopping for school supplies, clothing, computers, and other school necessities will not pay state sales tax from August 7-16, 2026.
• Nearly $100 Million to Help Families Afford Groceries and Food: The FY27 budget invests nearly $100 million to help families put food on the table, including:
  • $70 million for the Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger (FRESH) Program by providing one-time payment of $400 to Illinois families kicked off of SNAP by the Trump Administration.
  • $17.5 million for support of school districts’ free breakfast and lunch programs.
  • $12 million in new funding for the Illinois Grocery Initiative to address inadequate access to fresh foods in food deserts.
• $250 million for new missing middle and affordable housing programs at IHDA and DCEO.
• $100 million for a new Missing Middle Housing Infrastructure (M2I) Grant Program at DCEO.
• Connect developers to the capital needed to construct new, affordable homes.
• $100 million for missing middle and other affordable housing programs at IHDA.
• $50 million for Opening Doors and SmartBuy down payment assistance programs at IHDA.
• $350 million investment in the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) Formula for K-12 education to achieve the statutory target for annual funding increases. This investment brings the total EBF program to $9.2 billion, a $2.5 billion increase to the annual funding level during the Pritzker Administration.
• $721.6 million to maintain the Monetary Award Program (MAP) funding level, representing a $320 million, or an 80%, increase for MAP since 2019. ​
• Medical Debt Relief: Includes a new $5 million GRF deposit into the Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program Fund. The Medical Debt Relief Program has been wildly successful. The initial $10 million state investment has resulted in more than $1 billion in erased debt for more than 530,000 Illinoisans across all 102 counties of the state.
• Junk Fee Ban Act: Bans hidden and deceptive fees so consumers see upfront pricing and can keep more money in their pockets.
• Homeowners and Auto Insurance Reforms: Provides transparency and accountability in insurance rate setting to better protect consumers from unfair or unjustified premium increases while maintaining a strong insurance market in Illinois.
• Know Before You Owe: Helps students avoid predatory and high-cost private student loans by ensuring they first understand and exhaust available federal financial aid options before taking on more expensive private debt.