Governor JB Pritzker has used his item and reduction veto powers to remove more than $500 billion in spending mistakenly included in Illinois’ Fiscal Year 2027 budget before it takes effect Wednesday.
According to the governor’s office, nearly all of the vetoed spending resulted from drafting errors, including a single mistaken appropriation of $500 billion to an NAACP branch in Chicago.
Pritzker said the corrections were made after consulting with Democratic budget leaders in the General Assembly.
The errors have renewed criticism of the state budget process. Republican lawmakers, including State Representative Ryan Spain, said they warned of mistakes during debate as the 3,700-page spending plan was rushed through the legislature in the early morning hours of June 1st.
The Senate approved the budget shortly after 3 a.m., with the House following soon afterward, leaving lawmakers only a few hours to review the massive spending bill before voting.
Critics say the process lacked transparency and adequate review, while supporters maintain the errors were corrected before the budget took effect.