Vallas: J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ affordability champion?

Illinois is one of the least affordable states in the nation. Blame high taxes, public pensions and structural debt.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s election‑season budget paints a false picture of a thriving Illinois, supposedly overcoming “headwinds” from the Trump administration he demonizes.

Most telling is Pritzker’s decision, after years of raising taxes on Illinois residents and businesses, to make affordability the centerpiece of this year’s budget address, positioning himself as its champion in contrast to Trump.

No sooner had he delivered that address than he insisted Trump reimburse Illinois $8.68 billion, or $1,700 for every family in the state, saying that “if you do not comply, we will pursue further action.”

Pritzker uses this tactic to distract from his own record on affordability.

The governor introduced an election‑year budget that adds roughly $879 million in new spending, financed in part by some $589 million in what he likely considers politically safe tax hikes. One of those is capping net operating loss deductions.

His proposal lacks serious spending reform, and the claimed savings largely involve the federal government and technical adjustments doing the heavy lifting, not genuine cost discipline.

Illinois is only in the middle of the pack on general affordability, despite its central location and strong assets, according to a U.S. News and World Report survey. Living in Illinois has gotten considerably more expensive since Pritzker took office in 2019.

Illinois now imposes the nation’s highest combined state and local tax burden on a household earning the national median, all to prop up an unsustainable public pension system and heavy structural debt. In 2025, Illinois families will pay some $13,099, more than 16.5% of their income. That’s about 52% more than the national average and represents billions taken out of taxpayers’ pockets.

Pritzker also cut how much state income tax revenue goes to local governments. The state has been reducing that share for years, dropping it from 10% in 2012 to less than 7% today. That pressures local governments to raise property taxes.

Illinois also ranks among the least fiscally healthy states, with long‑term liabilities far exceeding assets. Without reforms, those liabilities will drive taxes and fees even higher. Illinois’ unfunded state and local pension debt is in the hundreds of billions of dollars, with funded ratios around 45% to 50% and a far higher debt‑to‑income ratio than almost any other state.

Then there are the governor’s immigration policy choices. The cost for state and local governments to provide services to undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers has grown to over $2.5 billion. That includes income support, housing, health care and education. In the most recent Illinois budget, migrant health care and related aid have rivaled or exceeded spending on roads and several core social programs combined.

This comes after Pritzker’s heavy‑handed COVID mitigation policies. Lockdowns and restrictions decimated small businesses and downtown commercial corridors throughout the state. That crushed commercial property values and, through property reassessments, helped shift a significant share of the property tax burden — estimated in the billions — onto homeowners and landlords, especially in Cook County.

Recent reassessments and shifts in value have substantially increased the share of the tax load borne by residential property owners as commercial values lag, the Cook County Treasurer has reported, effectively moving billions in tax burden from commercial to residential property.

Still, Pritzker will likely continue deflecting from his own record, doubling down on anti‑Trump rhetoric and blame‑shifting — anything to distract from his record of making Illinois less affordable.