AFFORDABILITY
Tax Your Campfires?
When it comes to staying warm, some Illinois House Democrats seem determined to make it as expensive as possible. First came their massive energy rate hike last fall. Now, Representative Briel is proposing legislation that would allow municipalities to charge a fee just for lighting a campfire.
House Bill 4459 would open the door for local governments to impose a $5 charge on open burns, including campfires, as well as potential additional regulation by the Illinois EPA. For families, campers, and anyone simply trying to enjoy the outdoors, this is effectively another tax on everyday life.
As Democrats claim to be fighting for affordability, it’s fair to ask: how does taxing campfires accomplish that? The answer is simple. It doesn’t. This is just the latest example of Democrats driving up the cost of living for Illinois families.
Their record speaks for itself:
- Passed an $8 billion energy rate hike to subsidize unreliable green energy.
- Approved a transit bill that also allows for toll increases up to $1 billion and higher RTA sales taxes.
- Enacted the largest budget in state history, relying on $700 million in new taxes.
For the supermajority, if families need or enjoy it – whether it’s energy, transportation, or now even a campfire, their approach continues to make Illinois less affordable.
House Republicans remain committed this legislative session to real solutions that address affordability by reining in spending and cutting taxes. Illinois families deserve relief, not another bill to pay.
With Bag Tax, the Cost of Living Would Continue to Rise
Democratic State Representative Laura Faver Dias has filed a bill to bring back the proposed bag tax, just another example of driving up the cost of living on Illinois families.
Under Faver Dias’ proposal, a new carryout bag tax would be imposed and then increased by five cents each year through 2030. The tax would apply to paper, plastic, and even reusable bags.
Bag fee schedule:
- 10 cents per carryout bag starting January 1, 2027
- 15 cents in 2028
- 20 cents in 2029
- 25 cents in 2030
Just last month, Speaker Welch claimed Democrats were fighting for affordability. But based on the bills they’ve filed so far, it’s hard to understand how.
House Republicans have continued to call for lowering the cost of living and reining in out-of-control spending. We have filed numerous bills to help working families, including my bill, HB0009, to lower property taxes.
BUDGET
CGFA reports mixed revenue picture for January 2026
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA), a nonpartisan economic and fiscal office within the General Assembly, continuously monitors trends in Illinois tax revenues. This duty is part of the constitutional requirement imposed on the General Assembly to enact an annual balanced budget. The CGFA report that comes out soon after the end of January in every calendar year is of special importance, because it is the final monthly report to be released prior to the public release of the Governor’s proposed annual budget for the next fiscal year. Gov. Pritzker will deliver his annual budget address on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
The CGFA revenue report for January 2026 presents a mixed picture for Springfield. Counted on the basis of the year-over-year numbers used by economic analysts and accountancy professionals to prevent nonstatistical fluctuations, Illinois’ general revenue numbers continued to show a slight increase in January 2026. Up by 1.8% from the year earlier were key revenue numbers representing taxes paid by Illinois taxpayers, including income tax, sales tax, and estate taxation. The 1.8% increase meant that “in-house” Illinois general revenues reported by the Department of Revenue (IDOR) and other State agencies were up by $82 million, from $4,664 billion in January 2025 to $4,746 billion in January 2026.
However, a troubling sign appeared in funds sent to Illinois from the federal government. This cash flow dropped sharply in January 2026 compared to one year earlier, down $169 million from $473 million to $304 million.
The federal government has begun to implement a wide variety of compliance programs intended to sharply reduce, and eventually stamp out, various examples of fraud and abuse in social welfare programs. Washington, D.C. is asking Illinois to do various things to reduce unneeded spending. These requests include (a) a strong push towards food stamp/SNAP eligibility oversight, (b) reduced Medicaid eligibility for persons who are physically able to seek employment but are not doing so.
As of February 2026, many of these federal efforts are facing only partial compliance, or non-compliance, from the Pritzker administration. The federal government has described itself as taking various actions against non-compliant states, including Illinois.
Illinois taxpayers are aware that current State law requires these programs to go on even if they are not getting expected money from Washington, D.C. This could become another facet of the major “budget gap” that Springfield will soon present to Illinois taxpayers for budgetary Fiscal Year 2027, the twelve-month period that is set to start on July 1, 2026.
EDUCATION
Illinois Must Make School Choice a Reality
As school choice continues to be stifled in Illinois, House Minority Leader Tony McCombie has made strides to advocate for Illinois families and work with the federal government to make it a reality.
Last summer, Leader McCombie wrote a letter to congressional leadership in support of the federal Educational Choice for Children Act, saying, “I believe our best foot forward is to empower parents to choose the learning environments that best meets their children’s individual needs. Regardless of funding debates, we must recognize that traditional public schools cannot be the only option available to families, particularly in underserved communities.”
She has gone a step further to file legislation in the Illinois House to hit her priority home. Her two bills include:
HB 4098: requires the State Board of Education to create a list of scholarship organizations that meet the requirements of Section 70411 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to facilitate opting the State of Illinois into the school choice tax credit provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
HB 4099: requires the State Board to create a list of scholarship organizations and grants the State Board the authority to transmit the list to the federal government to opt Illinois organizations into the federal tax credit.
The Educational Choice for Children Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 2, 2025, creates a federal tax credit for donations to approved scholarship organizations – which include funds for tutoring, fees for enrollment, educational therapies for students and other academic programs. For Illinois to take advantage of this tax credit, the state must opt in to allow its students to accept the donations. The state, under direction from Governor Pritzker, has failed to do so.
According to a report by the Illinois Policy Institute, while at least 28 other states benefit from this tax credit, Illinois does not. Further, Governor JB Pritzker has until January 1, 2027, to opt-in to this credit.
Rep. Ugaste Calls on Governor Pritzker to Opt In to Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program
It is time for Illinois to again put our children first! We need to opt in to the federal scholarship program. The program is funded entirely through a federal tax credit; and the framework allows for donations to support tutoring, after-school programs, and other educational expenses for public school families. Every state has the option to opt in, and the decision in Illinois belongs to Governor Pritzker.
This is a no-brainer, Governor. Students of both public and private schools can benefit. Politics or disagreements with the federal government should have no bearing on whether or not we help students succeed. Nothing is more important than our children and their futures.
If Governor Pritzker doesn’t opt in to help Illinois families, the benefits our kids could have will just go elsewhere.
Learn more here: Opinion: Gov. JB Pritzker shouldn’t block free help for students
JOBS
Year-to-year unemployment rate increased in 11 of Illinois’ 12 metro areas
From December 2024 to December 2025, Illinois’ overall unemployment rate rose from 4.3% to 4.8% when counted by metro area. This increase hit every metro area except Chicago, where the non-farm unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4%. All other regions of Illinois, including Lake County, Elgin/Kane County and nine large Downstate Illinois metro areas, showed jobless increases of 1.1% or more in 2025. The published numbers for December 2025 signaled a possible return to recession-level jobless numbers in Kankakee (6.7% unemployment), Decatur (6.6%), Rockford (6.2%) and the Quad Cities (6.1%).
While the metro Chicago area, centered on Cook and adjacent DuPage County, created an estimated 28,800 net new payroll jobs in 2025, every other region of Illinois lost jobs during the same period. For example, there was a net loss of 3,000 jobs in Metro Peoria, the largest Illinois metro area between greater Chicago and eastern St. Louis. Peoria, with its historic worker connection to construction machinery and off-road vehicles, was also affected by changes in U.S and global manufacturing patterns.