With a state budget $4 billion dollars out of balance, Illinois is running out of options to fill the gap.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was hoping to raise revenue by changing the tax code for Illinoisans, but voters rejected the amendment in November.
During the lame-duck session last week, lawmakers failed to pass a small business tax increase. Pritzker wanted to eliminate state-level tax benefits created as a form of economic relief when Congress passed the CARES Act.
Wes Tharpe, deputy director for State Policy Research for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said early in the pandemic, some states like Illinois approved budgets that didnât add up.