CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Gov. JB Pritzker signed his first budget in office Wednesday, days after state lawmakers approved the $40 billion spending plan.
The Democratic governor called the bill signing at the Thompson Center "a watershed moment" and one that restores "fiscal stability after years of crisis."
The budget will provide an additional $130 million for the Department of Children and Family Services, which has come under scrutiny after the death of Andrew “AJ” Freund and other children who had contact with the agency.
It also devotes $150 million toward paying down the state's overdue bills, many of which accumulated during the two years that there was no budget. Then, Pritzker's Republican predecessor feuded with Democrats who control the legislature.
The state comptroller estimates the backlog is $6.1 billion.
State Sen. Toi Hutchinson was one of many Democrats who crowded around the governor as he signed the budget and a graduated income tax bill that must be approved by voters in November 2020.
She called the budget a moral document that demonstrates to people what lawmakers believe in.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin and several in his party supported the budget, but he released a statement shortly before its signing that criticizes the graduated income tax measure.
“For two years in a row, Republicans and Democrats have proven that we can balance the state’s budget with no new taxes on Illinois families. However, the graduated tax rates signed into law today are simply the next step to giving Illinois Democrats a blank check for uncontrolled spending for years to come,” Durkin said.