Pritzker Administration Facing Budget Woes After Graduated Tax Failure

FILE – In this March 7, 2019, file photo, Gov. J.B. Pritzker outlines his plan to replace Illinois’ flat-rate income tax with a graduated structure at the State Capitol in Springfield, Ill. Both sides in the debate over changing Illinois’ income tax system from a flat-rate to a graduated structure, which voters face on this fall’s election ballot, have straightforward arguments. (AP Photo/John O’Connor File)

The Pritzker administration is facing budget woes after the failure of the graduated tax proposal. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget shows an estimated deficit of nearly four-billion dollars for this fiscal year. Larger deficits are being projected for the next five fiscal years, reaching nearly five-billion next year and just over 33-billion by 2026. State lawmakers borrowed five-billion to address holes in the current budget. The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are also playing a role in the deficit projections. Pritzker says tough spending cuts may need to be made to make up for the lack of funds.