“The budget we passed today, along with the pension, procurement and local government reforms passed last week, demonstrate a clear sign of good faith from the Senate Democrats." - State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria)

SPRINGFIELD – Today, the Illinois Senate passed a balanced budget for the next fiscal year. The budget, which includes new revenues and spending cuts, spends the same amount of money as the governor’s proposal while balancing it unlike the governor’s past proposals.

State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) voted for the budget, citing the need to end the budget impasse. Senator Koehler issued the following statement:

“Too many people are suffering in Illinois without a budget in place,” Koehler said. “The budget we passed today, along with the pension, procurement and local government reforms passed last week, demonstrate a clear sign of good faith from the Senate Democrats. If the governor remains opposed, then it is proof that he was never interested in a deal in the first place."

“This budget provides the stability and certainty our state needs to grow in the future and focuses on recovering from this impasse. It will be years before we fully recover; however, this budget is the important first step to doing so.”