Proposed FY 26 budget plan holds the line on key public services

Gov. JB Pritzker introduced a balanced Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal that averted major cutbacks, layoffs or closures.   

Earlier indications of a large budget shortfall seem to have been avoided, as state revenues have exceeded projections.  

The $55.2 billion budget represents a 2.5% increase over FY 2025. However, the reliability of federal funding, which is critical to state operations and programming, is highly uncertain as billionaire Elon Musk and the Trump administration continue their efforts to slash funding for public services. 

What happens in Washington, D.C. over the coming months remains a question mark hovering above this budget.

Importantly, the budget increases the number of budgeted positions at several state departments, including the Departments of Human Services (+34), Corrections (+585), Children and Family Services (+100), Juvenile Justice (+33) and Public Health (+29). Hiring has picked up pace in recent months, but thousands of vacant positions remain—and the state will have to speed up hiring to fill these new positions in addition to the vacancies.

The recommended budget also fully funds the state’s pension contributions at $10.5 billion, an increase of $435 million over the current year, but does not allocate any additional funds beyond the required amount.

Two key AFSCME priorities—equal pay for state university employees doing the same or similar work as their counterparts in state government, and a boost for wages of direct support staff in community disability agencies—didn’t get the funding they need in the governor’s plan. The AFSCME legislative team will be pressing for the additional funds that are needed to meet those goals.

Next, the state legislature will debate and offer amendments to Pritzker’s recommended budget throughout the spring legislative session.