No, it won’t include an increase in Illinois’ flat income tax. We also know that for the second year in a row, general state aid frozen for public grade and high schools.

But there are plenty of questions about what will and won’t be in the state budget Gov. J.B. Pritzker is scheduled to unveil in a remote speech at noon tomorrow.

Gov. JB Pritzker needs to be more open with the General Assembly about how he will balance the state’s deficit-plagued budget amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and avoid tax increases that Illinois voters already indicated they don’t want, House Republican leaders said Monday.

“We must re-engage our role as a co-equal branch of government to provide the kinds of checks and balances that the people of Illinois expect,” Deputy House Minority Leader Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said as a news conference.

With Gov. J.B. Pritzker preparing to deliver his budget address Wednesday, lawmakers are sounding off on what may be in store.

Coming off the defeat of his graduated income tax proposal during the November election, Pritzker is preparing a budget plan that doesn’t increase overall state spending or raise the flat-rate income tax from the existing 4.95%.

The Blue Collars Job Act passed in 2019, but is now under the spotlight again as Illinois lawmakers are set to begin three and a half months of budget conversations to deal with an expected deficit.

Gov. JB Pritzker froze the act last month when it was set to take effect on Jan. 1 in hopes of allowing Illinois to bring in more revenue to deal with revenue losses from the pandemic. However, Republicans are arguing the act needs to take effect to help the state’s economy grow in the wake of COVID-19 restrictions

For anyone who has been wrongly convicted, a certificate of innocence is a pretty big deal.

The certificate comes with a number of benefits including expungement of the conviction, employment counseling and help with job placement, and the ability to file for compensation up to $220,000.