DeKalb Times

Illinois state Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley) is among those criticizing the state’s $50 billion budget that the Senate passed recently.

“Budget reflects Democrats’ priorities of big government and special interests, not ideas of what’s best for Illinois citizens,” the senator said in a recent Facebook post.

Syverson’s office also issued a release about the new budget.

“Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic legislative leaders once again chose bigger government and special interests over plans that better reflect the priorities of Illinois citizens, approving a $50 billion state spending plan May 25,” the release said.

Syverson stated that he could not vote to approve the budget because Democratic leaders ignored the real-life priorities of Illinois taxpayers.

“When we discuss legislative priorities, especially when it comes to state spending, we always talk about caring for our state’s most vulnerable residents,” he said in the release. “We did push for an increase in funding for disability programs, but there is a lot of financial ground to make up. Illinois ranks 47th out of 50 states in funding community-based services for people with disabilities. Instead of fully funding this vulnerable population, we are set to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on free healthcare for non-citizens.”

The senator suggested that the $1.5 billion the program would cost if expanded could be better spent for the state residents who have developmental disabilities—along with increasing the pay of their care workers and others associated with those needs.

“Programs to help persons with developmental disabilities – whether in services, housing, or jobs programs – have been shortchanged for years,” Syverson said in a May 11 release from his office. “Our focus as a state should be on taking care of our own citizens, especially the most vulnerable, before opening our doors to undocumented individuals from other countries and other states. It is time for the Majority Party to take ownership of this fiscal problem and rein it in. They need to focus on making good on their promises to Illinois citizens and taxpayers.”

Syverson was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1993, the General Assembly website said. He was raised in Rockford and has lived in the state his entire life. Syverson is an independent financial and benefits broker and a member of various business organizations, including multiple chambers of commerce, the National Association of Financial Planners and other groups.