{"id":29272,"date":"2026-02-20T02:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/?page_id=29272"},"modified":"2026-02-20T02:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:34:30","slug":"senator-harriss-statement-on-2026-state-budget-address","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/senator-harriss-statement-on-2026-state-budget-address\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator Harriss Statement on 2026 State Budget Address"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"fonts-plugin-block \" style=\"font-family: Lato;font-weight: normal\"><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE <\/strong><br> February 18, 2026<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"185\" src=\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Erica-header.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Erica-header.png 800w, https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Erica-header-300x69.png 300w, https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Erica-header-768x178.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 85vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"fonts-plugin-block \" style=\"font-family: Lato;font-weight: normal;font-size: 20px;text-align: center\"><strong>Senator Harriss Statement on 2026 State Budget Address<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fonts-plugin-block \" style=\"font-family: Lato;font-weight: normal\">State Senator Erica Harriss (56<sup>th<\/sup>-Glen Carbon) released the following statement after Governor Pritzker\u2019s State of the State and Budget Address:<br><br>\u201cAs a working parent in a family of five, I know affordability is not a slogan. It is about whether families can pay their bills, plan for the future, and feel secure in their homes. The same is true for seniors living on fixed incomes. <br><br>Right now, too many Illinoisans are watching property taxes, utility bills, and everyday costs rise faster than their paychecks.<br><br>\u201cIn today\u2019s address, I was hoping to hear more about practical solutions to the challenges facing our state. Illinoisans are less concerned with politics and more concerned about what is happening at their kitchen tables. They want stability, opportunity, and leadership that understands what it truly costs to live and raise a family in Illinois.<br><br>\u201cThe Governor is required by law to propose a balanced budget, but this plan relies heavily on revenue proposals that have not been approved. This proposal also includes a significant hit to local school funding, which will only push more costs onto local communities and increase pressure on property taxpayers.<br><br>\u201cIllinois families and seniors deserve responsible budgeting, meaningful tax relief, and leadership that puts their financial security ahead of politics.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29272","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29274,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29272\/revisions\/29274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}