SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) released the following statement in response to the Senate’s passage of a balanced Fiscal Year 2026 budget that prioritizes fiscal responsibility, boosts education and local resources and makes the full pension obligation payment:

“The administration in Washington has made threats and taken unconstitutional action to throw international, national and state economies and household budgets into disarray. Here in Illinois, we have produced a balanced, responsible budget that will fully fund our pension obligations, maintain funding for local governments, and increase funds for the evidence-based funding model and the Monetary Award Program (MAP) for need-based financial aid to Illinois students.

“Today, I want to emphasize that our caucus has done a significant job in taking the strength we’ve achieved in the past several years and building on that by positioning our state to weather future chaos. We still stand on the nine credit upgrades we’ve earned, saving Illinois taxpayers millions of dollars, and continue investing in the future.”