SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Graciela Guzmán released the following statement in response to the Senate’s passage of the Fiscal Year 2027 spending plan in Springfield:
“This plan represents the start of a conversation, not the end. The revenue package contains real reform, taxing massive tech corporations while they rake in billions of profit on our data. This is the first step on the path to truly equitable revenue reform. At a time when Illinoisans are struggling to pay for groceries, health care costs and rent, we should be bold and creative in finding ways to support the programs that are vital to keep our communities whole. The rich have taken so much of our economy for themselves and left working people behind to fight for the scraps. Our budget should reflect the urgent need our constituents are facing and move with action, but sadly this proposal is entirely inadequate to tackle the challenges on affordability and sticks with the bare minimum status quo.”
“In this moment, Illinois places a massive burden on working class people while giving handouts to the richest in our state and corporations. We have chosen to bind ourselves to one of the most regressive tax codes in the country. This path is unsustainable in the long term – especially now that the federal government is cutting essential services. Making the rich pay their fair share is the least we can do to build up Illinois as a beacon of equity and civil liberties.”
“The revenue package contains steps toward structural revenue reform. The Digital Asset Tax Act will bring in billions from companies that have raked in massive profits off our data. It is time these powerful businesses pay back into the communities they are profiting from. We are moving to decouple corporate tax rules from the anti-worker federal budget bill and keep Illinois corporate taxes under Illinois control. Finally, we are moving forward on a tax on predictive markets to generate revenue and bring them more in line with traditional gambling taxation. As we move deeper into this decade with a chaotic federal government and uncertain economic outlook, we will be glad we took the jump to make these new revenue options possible.”
“Our communities deserve more support in the face of attacks from all sides. With nearly one trillion in funding slashed from Medicaid and Medicare, and SNAP benefits under attack, we must do anything we can to support our constituents through the chaos perpetrated by the Trump administration. With the federal government attacking our communities physically with ICE raids, legal attacks on our bodies and an economic plan that puts the rich above all else, Illinois must be more willing to act on behalf of our people to protect our rights. The conversation is not over. I will be back in the community soon, fully committed to advocating for a tax on the rich to support the 99%.”
