As Pritzker signs Illinois budget, here’s what’s in and what was left out

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a series of budget bills on Monday, allowing tax changes and several other policies to take effect on July 1.

The six bills were signed during a press availability on Monday, with the governor touting his administration’s seventh consecutive balanced budget.

Here’s a breakdown of what will take effect and what will change as part of the new budget.

What Pritzker signed on Monday

Rather than being contained in one omnibus bill, Pritzker signed six different pieces of legislation to put the Fiscal Year 2026 budget into effect.

The budget itself was contained in SB 2510, while its implementation was codified in HB 1075. New bonds were authorized in HB 3374, while revenue estimates and collection policies were included in HB 2755.

Two additional spending bills, SB 2437 and HB 2771, were also signed by the governor.

Spending notes on the budget

Pritzker used reduced appropriations in one of the budget bills as a corrective measure, saying that the amounts had been duplicated. That move reduced the amount of spending in the final budget agreement by just over $161 million.

The series of bills also called for a deposit of $161 million in the state’s “rainy day” fund, which Pritzker says will contain nearly $2.5 billion by the end of the next fiscal year.

The budget bill includes another increase in funding for the state’s Department of Children and Family Services, raising its budget to $2.5 billion, according to the governor’s office.

Another $748 million was earmarked for funding for early childhood programs in the state, along with $200 million for childcare providers in the state.

In all, the state forecasted approximately $55.3 billion in revenues and expenditures of $55.08 billion, with a forecasted surplus of $217 million.

Illinois lawmakers met their May 31 deadline by approving a record $55 billion budget. Political reporter Mary Ann Ahern has more on what you’ll pay for.

New tax rates included in the budget deal:

Several new tax rates were set for a variety of items as Illinois aims to increase revenue to go along with increases in appropriations in the new budget bill.

-Beginning July 1, Illinois officials will aim to raise approximately $36 million in revenues by placing a per-wager tax on sports betting in the state.

The state will impose a $0.25-per-wager rate for the first 20 million wagers placed with licensed sports books in the state, and the tax rate will increase to $0.50 per wager after that.

In response, major sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel have implemented surcharges on bets placed within the state of Illinois, according to iGamingBusiness.

-Individuals who use services like AirBNB and Vrbo for vacation rentals will now have to pay the state’s Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax.

According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the state taxes hotel rooms at a rate of 6% of 94% of gross receipts. In the city of Chicago, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which helps to operate Rate Field, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which operates McCormick Place, also collect taxes on hotels. The city itself also assesses a 1% tax on hotel rooms.

-Tobacco products will now be taxed at a rate of 45% of their wholesale price, increasing from 36%, according to officials.

Chicago public transit agencies are getting closer to the fiscal cliff, and there doesn’t appear to be an off ramp in sight.

Items left out:

-The Chicago Bears’ quest for funding for a new stadium was once again left out of budget talks despite the team wanting to get shovels into the ground in suburban Arlington Heights in the near future.

The team has said it will kick in construction costs for the stadium, aided by a grant from the NFL, but has requested state funding for new debt and upgrades to infrastructure around the new stadium, focusing on building up roads and upgrading a nearby Metra station to help get fans in and out of the suburban community, according to Forbes.

-A bill aiming to address a looming fiscal cliff for public transit agencies in the Chicago area passed one chamber of the General Assembly, but it ended up failing to pass the House, meaning that lawmakers would have to address it in a veto session later this year.

The bill would have raised funding for transit agencies via a series of tax changes, but would have also consolidated the leadership of CTA, Metra and Pace, a starting point in negotiations for many lawmakers in Springfield.

Now, if the bill is going to pass, it will require a three-fifths vote rather than a simple majority, and some officials have warned that layoff notices and service cuts could be looming soon as agencies finalize their budgets for Fiscal Year 2026.