Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pritzker: Start budget talks by treating opponents as decent people
Summary
Illinois Governor Pritzker told a panel that bipartisan budget work begins by assuming opponents want good outcomes and by finding nonpartisan priorities like roads and jobs, citing a 2019 bipartisan override and recovery from a two-year budget gap.
Governor Pritzker said he begins budget negotiations by assuming members of the other party are decent people with families and good intentions, a posture he credited with enabling bipartisan deals in Illinois. He described the post-2018 period as a time when "we really had to climb out of a very tough situation" and pointed to a 2019 bipartisan budget override as evidence that working relationships can produce results.
Pritzker argued many state functions — roads, job attraction, food assistance — are not inherently partisan anchors for compromise. "I like to say, even Republicans have good ideas every once in a while," he said, urging negotiators to look for shared, nonpartisan objectives. He also warned that governing means representing all parts of the state and avoiding the politics of rewarding only those who supported you.
The remarks focused on negotiation posture rather than a specific legislative vehicle or appropriation; no concrete new budget proposals or dollar figures were presented during his turn on the panel.
