DeKalb Times

Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) recently spoke of his opposition to the new state budget in the upcoming 2023 fiscal year Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed earlier in April.

“The budget that Gov. Pritzker is signing today grows state spending by 10% while revenues are actually declining by 5%,” Demmer posted on Facebook. “That is neither responsible nor sustainable. Just a year and a half ago, Gov. Pritzker was spending millions to convince Illinois voters to approve his $3.5 billion tax hike — threatening them with draconian cuts or across-the-board tax hikes if they didn’t approve.”

A release from Pritzker's office said the budget includes $1.8 billion in tax relief to Illinoisian families. It also said the new budget will use money from the American Rescue Plan Act toward repayment of federal advances to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

In January, Demmer filed legislation to combine the offices of State Treasurer and Comptroller. 

“Illinois taxpayers would be better served by having one office perform the duties of Comptroller and Treasurer,” Demmer posted on his website. “Reducing state government’s footprint and consolidating functions would achieve savings for taxpayers and streamline the fiscal operations of Illinois in a meaningful way. The late Judy Baar Topinka, who served separate terms in both offices, advocated for combining Comptroller and Treasurer into one position.

“We can honor her memory and reform an inefficient Madigan-era relic by acting now to let the people of Illinois have the final say on approving this reform later this year.”

In March, Demmer said that legislators needed to deliver meaningful relief to taxpayers, as inflation hits gas prices and just about everything else an Illinois resident purchases. 

“As we consider the state’s budget process, as we consider where the state’s prioritizing our dollars and our investments, we need to think long and hard about what we can do to deliver meaningful relief to Illinois families in the face of unprecedented growth, in inflation, and unprecedented price increases on many everyday staple goods,” Demmer said at a press conference. “We’ve been actively pushing for that kind of release here in the state of Illinois. And we think it should be a priority in this year’s budget-making process to think first about Illinois families and taxpayers and not just think about the state bureaucracy and the state budget.”

In January, Demmer announced he would run for state treasurer. 

Demmer joined the General Assembly in 2013 and serves as the director of strategic planning at Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon. He held a seat on the Lee County Board prior to that.