ILLINOIS — In a year when Illinois approved a record-breaking $55.2 billion state budget, only 10 out of 3,859 proposed bills included cost estimates — leaving residents concerned about unchecked spending and future financial burdens.
Thousands of Bills, Almost No Price Tags
Between January and May 2025, lawmakers introduced 6,745 bills, with 3,859 of them aiming to change how Illinois is governed — everything from new programs and laws to personnel updates. Yet, only 10 of those proposals came with a fiscal note outlining their potential cost to taxpayers.
That means over 99% of the changes were approved without a clear financial plan.
A Budget With No Bottom Line Transparency
Despite the state’s already high tax burden — Illinois has the highest combined state and local taxes in the country — the legislature passed 415 substantive bills, all but one without any official cost analysis. If Governor J.B. Pritzker signs them into law, residents will face a slew of new policies without knowing how much they’ll cost.
The practice of ignoring price tags is in stark contrast to best practices recommended by national watchdog groups, which urge all states to:
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Require fiscal notes for all proposals
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Ensure those notes are created by nonpartisan analysts
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Estimate long-term impacts
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Update notes if bills are amended
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Publish notes publicly and clearly
Yet Illinois only meets one of those five standards — posting the few fiscal notes it does produce online.
Who Decides Whether a Bill Needs a Cost Estimate?
Under current state law, the bill’s sponsor decides whether to include a fiscal note. If another lawmaker believes a fiscal estimate is necessary, they must convince a majority of the General Assembly just to request one.
This puts immense control in the hands of individual lawmakers — and leaves taxpayers guessing what kind of bill they’ll receive in the mail months or years later.
“Taxpayers should know the cost lawmakers expect them to cover before the governor signs a bill into law,” analysts from Illinois Policy Institute emphasized.
Illinois Residents Urged to Push for Transparency
Illinoisans already feeling the pinch from taxes are being asked to push their local lawmakers for more budget transparency.
Adding mandatory fiscal notes could help ensure public funds are used wisely — and allow voters to hold lawmakers accountable for financial decisions that affect their daily lives.
Should Illinois lawmakers be required to disclose the cost of every bill before it’s passed? Share your thoughts in the comments on ChicagoSuburbanFamily.com.
