Illinoisans can read a budget before it passes for the first time in at least 10 years

Bucking the practice of recent years, lawmakers introduced the proposed budget more than three weeks before the May 31 end of the session.

In a refreshing change from the chaotic rush of recent years, Illinois lawmakers and the public have more than three weeks to digest the proposed state budget.

The nearly 3,200-page plan for fiscal 2027 was introduced May 7 in both chambers of the General Assembly, 24 days before the end of the legislative session May 31, when the budget can pass with a simple majority of both the state House and Senate.

The budget proposal is in House Bill 131 and Senate Bill 2512. The relatively early introduction is welcome, compared with the end-of-session dash of recent years. However, the accompanying language for the budget implementation and revenue bills are still needed.

Last year lawmakers waited until May 31 to introduce the 3,386-page budget bill, giving themselves less than 26 seconds per page for review.

This year they have nearly 11 minutes per page to review a 3,178-page budget proposal.

The short time for a budget to be reviewed can deter debate and largely eliminates opportunity for scrutiny from taxpayers and even lawmakers themselves. The tactic is used despite laws that outline how a budget bill should be passed.

Under the Illinois Constitution, the governor must submit a recommended budget to the General Assembly no later than the third Wednesday in February. Lawmakers can amend the proposal in an appropriations committee in either the House or Senate.

The state constitution also requires that bills be read on three separate days before they are passed. That provision is intended to give lawmakers — and taxpayers — a chance to know what is in the bill before it is passed. But lawmakers regularly insert hundreds or thousands of pages unrelated to the original bill and pass it the same day.

The time available this year to review, vet and debate the budget is refreshing. Will lawmakers respect taxpayer dollars, or will last-minute shenanigans happen behind closed doors?