Pritzker's recommended 2025 budget in summary
Pritzker’s recommended 2025 budget in summary
In his annual address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Feb. 21, Gov. JB Pritzker presented his recommended budget for the coming 2025 fiscal year that starts July 1.
AFSCME’s legislative affairs team in Springfield is monitoring the budget process at every step and advocating for a responsible budget that works for union members.
Following is a summary of the proposal‘s key points of interest to AFSCME members.
State government
The proposed budget makes a significant investment in the state’s workforce while acknowledging the severity of the ongoing staffing crisis. The governor recommends an overall increase an increase in total headcount of 2.1%, or 1,299 positions, mostly driven by large increases in personnel in the Departments of Children and Family Services and Veterans’ Affairs.
The spending plan includes funding for 9,000 positions that are currently vacant. Investing in these positions must be accompanied by an increased effort to recruit, hire and retain staff to fill them.
The budget as proposed includes no layoffs or facility closures and marks the governor’s sixth balanced budget since he took office.
Department of Children and Family Services
In his speech, Gov. Pritzker noted that DCFS workers are often treated as “a punching bag for larger societal issues.
“They work long hours, and on occasion, these heroic workers have been the subject of threats and violence,” Pritzker said. “I want them to know that I see them—that I see their work—and that I am incredibly grateful for their service.”
The line was met by a standing ovation from nearly everyone in attendance, and Pritzker’s spending plan backed up his praise.
DCFS’s total budget is set for an increase of 16.3% over last year’s, largely driven by the addition of 392 positions, mostly on the front lines, including 133 new child welfare workers and 259 new child protection workers.
It also includes a 20.7% increase—$62.1 million—in funding for residential child welfare agencies.
The budget for the Department of Corrections remains mostly flat compared to the current year. It includes a targeted headcount of 12,643, which is an increase of 413 budgeted positions—although the department is being optimistic about its hiring capabilities, as the current total headcount is well below that number.
IDOC also budgeted a $2 million increase in repair and maintenance funding to address smaller, deferred maintenance projects of under $100,000.
Department of Human Services
The total budget for the Department of Human Services has risen significantly since fiscal year 2023. The fiscal year 2025 budget represents a 13.2% increase, with the total recommended appropriation coming in at $14.2 billion.
The governor proposes funding increases for state-operated developmental centers (SODCs) and state-operated mental health centers (SOMHCs). The increase amounts to approximately 15% for SODCs and 7% for SOMHCs.
The DHS budget falls short in that it only maintains this year’s wage increases for direct support professionals (DSPs) in state-funded nonprofit agencies, but doesn’t propose an increase for next year. This makes our union’s current campaign to raise DSP wages even more important.
Department of Juvenile Justice
The DJJ budget would increase 9.75% over the current year, largely driven by the cost of opening the newly renovated Illinois Youth Center at Lincoln. Agency headcount would rise by 119 positions.
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
The fiscal year 2025 budget represents a 10.8% spending boost for DVA, largely due to a substantial increase in headcount of 564 positions, mostly concentrated in frontline positions. While vacancies still remain a serious problem in DVA, the department stressed its eagerness to recruit workers to fill those new positions.
Department of Public Health
While the governor’s proposed budget reduces IDPH funding by 16.6%, largely due to the drying up of federal COVID-19 funds, the number of budgeted positions is set to increase by 118.
Higher education
Spending earmarked for higher education would remain mostly unchanged from the current budget. The governor included only a modest increase of $24.6 million for general operating costs at public universities—not nearly enough to address longstanding wage inequities for administrative, clerical, building service and other workers. Pushing for more funding earmarked for university employee wages is another AFSCME priority this spring.
Local government
The budget plan does little to help local governments, failing to restore the Local Government Distributive Fund to its previous level and cutting the grocery tax which provided an income boost to municipalities.
K-12 education
School funding is a key priority in this budget, with the second year of $400 million in funding for Smart Start Illinois, a program that increases access to preschool, as well as a $350 million investment in K-12 education.
Pensions
The governor would fully fund the state’s pension contributions at $10.1 billion, an increase of $322 million over the current year. Pritzker also stated his intention to increase the overall funding goal from the current 90% by 2045 to 100% by 2048.