Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker delivered his seventh State of the State and budget address Wednesday, pledging a series of policy proposals, while at the same time taking the Trump administration to task. Republicans were quick to accuse Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, of using the state as a political stepping stone

The state faces a budget shortfall of roughly $3 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, according to data released late last year by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.

Pritzker proposed a $55.2 billion dollar budget that predicts slower revenue growth at less than 2%, down from a recent high of 15.9% in 2021 and 5% expected in the current fiscal year. The plan increases discretionary spending by less than 1%.

"I’m proud to say this year’s budget proposal is balanced and responsible. It represents some hard sacrifices and moderated spending. We’re preserving the progress we’ve made over the last six years, streamlining certain departments to do more with less, and delivering for our residents without raising their taxes," he said, adding that the plan includes cost savings through efficiencies, cuts new hiring at state agencies and overhauls purchasing procedures.

On policy changes, Pritzker used the address to endorse legislation promoting "screen-free schools" by banning cell phones during instructional class time with exceptions.

He's also backing a move that would allow community colleges in the state to offer four-year degrees.

Pritzker recently told Spectrum News that any decision on his future plans is still months away. He could run for re-election in 2026 and is among a number of high-profile potential candidates for president in 2028.

He was an outspoken surrogate for Democrats on the campaign trail in 2024 and has stepped forward as a critic of the Trump administration often over the course of the first month of the presidential administration. 

Pritzker trained his focus on Trump several times in Wednesday's address, and warned that the state does not have the ability to make up the difference when it comes to federal funding.

"I know it’s in fashion at the federal level right now to just indiscriminately slash school funding, healthcare coverage, support for farmers, and veterans’ services. They say they’re doing it to eliminate inefficiencies. But only an idiot would think we should eliminate emergency response in a natural disaster, education and healthcare for disabled children, gang crime investigations, clean air and water programs, monitoring of nursing home abuse, nuclear reactor regulation, and cancer research," he said.

He also excoriated Trump over immigration policy and connecting the fatal plane crash involving a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington to diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Pritzker suggested there were parallels to the rise of Nazism in Germany, a notion that Illinois Republicans in the General Assembly quickly countered.

"Every Illinoisan should be offended by his hateful rhetoric. Today, his political ambition for higher office overrode his responsibility to the citizens of Illinois in a bizarre, offensive rant,” said State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Alton.

"While President Trump is leading from the front, slashing government waste and spending to reduce the tax burden on American families, Governor Pritzker proposed yet another massive spending budget relying on pipe dream projections while lying about President Trump's record in an effort to establish himself on a national stage, leaving Illinois in his wake," said Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi.