Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker lays out $56 billion spending plan in State of the State address

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday laid out his spending plan and legislative agenda for the next fiscal year as he presented his annual State of the State address in Springfield.

The governor's $56 billion spending plan – the eighth budget of his tenure – would rely on new taxes on social media platforms and casinos to help eliminate a projected $2.2 billion shortfall.

Pritzker's proposed social media tax would be similar to one the city of Chicago began imposing this year. The governor estimated the tax would generate $200 million a year to help fund public schools in Illinois.

"If social media giants are going to feed off of Illinois families, they ought to support Illinois families," he said.

Pending approval by the Illinois General Assembly, the governor's plan would require social media platforms to pay a monthly fee based on the number of active users in Illinois, with larger companies paying higher fees.

The tiered rate structure would charge social media platforms with 100,000 to 500,000 users in Illinois 10 cents per month per user over 100,000. Platforms with 500,000 to 1 million users would be charged $40,000 per month plus 25 cents per month for each user over 500,000. Social media companies with 1 million or more users in Illinois would be charged $165,000 per month, plus 50 cents per month for each user over 1 million.

The legislation would prohibit social media companies from passing along the fee to users.

Meantime, Illinois casinos also would end up paying more in coming years if Pritzker has his way. He has proposed generating $120 million a year for the state by taxing table games at the same rate slots and electronic games are currently charged.

The governor also renewed efforts to ban cell phones and other personal wireless devices for kids in school.

Pritzker is backing legislation to require all public school districts and charter schools in Illinois to develop policies limiting the use of cell phones and other wireless devices – such as tablets, smartwatches, laptops, and gaming devices – on school grounds throughout the entire school day.

The proposed ban would provide exceptions for emergencies or response to an imminent threat, for cases when a medical professional deems a wireless device is necessary to manage a student's health, if devices are needed as part of a student's individualized education program, to help students for whom English is a second language, or when a student Is a caregiver responsible for the wellbeing of a family member.

Schools would be allowed to provide high school students access to their phones during their lunch period, or when a teacher has authorized students to use a phone or tablet for educational purposes.

The plan would preclude schools from fining, suspending, or expelling students for violating the cell phone ban, or from calling police or school resource officers to enforce the ban.

Pritzker backed a similar ban last year that would have only prohibited the use of wireless devices during classroom instruction. That measure was unanimously approved by the Illinois Senate, but stalled in the Illinois House.

The governor also said he wants to cut red tape to speed up new affordable housing options, put a two-year pause on data center tax credits to slow down those facilities chewing up energy, and eliminate $1 billion in medical debt for half a million Illinoisians.

Pritzker, who is eying a run for President in 2028, spent part of his address criticizing President Trump and blaming him in part for the problems Illinois faces in balancing its budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. The governor said the Trump administration has stripped $8.4 billion from Illinois coffers in the last year.

"Illinois is fighting more than 50 cases in court where the federal government is illegally confiscating money that has already been promised and appropriated by the Congress to the people of Illinois," Pritzker said.

Republicans accused Pritzker of trying to increase his national profile while ignoring problems in Illinois.

"I'm not sure that I can call it a budget address. It seemed a little bit more like a campaign speech," said Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro).

Republicans said Pritzker's spending plan is short on funding for the developmentally disabled and the Illinois Department of Corrections.

His likely Republican opponent this fall, former state Sen. Darren Bailey, said Pritzker fell short on addressing ways to cut down the cost of groceries that real Illinoisans feel.