South Central Reporter

State Rep. Mike Coffey had words of criticism for his fellow legislatures, mainly Democrats, for being behind on handling pending bills in the House of Representatives and, most importantly, voting on a budget.

In a May 20 statement on his website, Coffey pointed out that May 19 was the goal to have this business handled. He assured the House floor this week to make sure his constituents are heard and they are well-represented. He also took to social media, where he linked his statement to widen the reach in his district and keep them informed.

“The majority leadership failed to meet their own deadline for the end of the session and members of the General Assembly will return to the Capitol later this week to hopefully finish our work,” said Rep. Coffey on Facebook on May 22.

The full response on his website is as follows: “Friday was the scheduled last day of the regular legislative session for the year. This is the date by which all final action must be taken on bills pending in the House of Representatives and by which the budget must be voted upon. Except, that didn’t happen. The majority leadership failed to meet their own deadline for the end of the session and members of the General Assembly will return to the Capitol next week to hopefully finish our work. What concerns me the most is very few have even seen the budget and fewer still have had any input. Once again, like years in the past, the budget may be crafted in secrecy and likely will be put to a vote with little to no time to review. I hope I am wrong and all members will be provided adequate time to thoroughly vet the budget and have a seat at the negotiating table to make certain that Illinois families are not footing the bill for reckless spending. I will be back on the House floor this week to do my part as your representative and ensure your voice is heard.”

On February 15, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a budget proposal at the State and Budget Address. There, he said that it seemed like a lifetime ago when he was announcing a proposal, as much progress has been made but there are still fiscal challenges ahead. He noted that what was once $17 billion in overdue bills has changed to a state that pays its bills accordingly. He touted that Illinois has passed four balanced budgets in a row and that the state has a $2.3 billion "rainy day fund" after it once had no cushion to speak of.

“Our fiscal progress is remarkable,” Pritzker said during his address. “Remember the $230 million in college Illinois debt? Paid. Remember the $900 million in group health insurance debt? Paid. How about the $800 million Thompson Center liability? Paid. $4.5 billion unemployment trust fund debt? Paid. The $1.3 billion debt owed to Illinois' treasury funds swept by previous governors? Paid. $8 billion of overdue bills? Paid. As of fiscal year 2023, all our state's short-term and medium-term liabilities will have been eliminated. All of it. Our budgets are built on a solid foundation of normalized state revenue and more efficient management of state resources. We have used our surpluses to chip away at our long-term liabilities too, including $500 million more into our pension stabilization fund over the last two years and my proposal this year to increase that by another $200 million. The percent of the budget needed to meet our statutory obligations has declined as our revenues have grown and our fiscal fortunes have improved.”

Interested individuals can look at the governor's budget documents here.

Coffee was sworn into office to represent constituents of the 95th District in January of this year. According to his website, he is the owner of Papa Frank’s in Springfield which opened in 2015, and his family has owned Saputo’s since 1948.