The election results should be a wake-up call for Democrats

SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – Illinois House Republicans believe voters have sent Democrats a message through the ballot box: It’s time to change.

At a news conference Wednesday, House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said it’s time for the two parties to work together to solve the state’s problems.

“This election cycle was a clear mandate against single-party control. “The state’s residents voted with their wallets in mind, which is a loud cry for better fiscal responsibility and immediate relief,” McCombie said.

Despite President-elect Donald Trump improving from a nearly 17 percentage point loss in Illinois in 2020 to a 10 percentage point loss in 2024, little else changed electorally in Illinois. Democrats won 14 of the 17 seats in Congress, which is the same as in 2022. In the state legislature, it doesn’t appear that a single seat will flip in either chamber. Democrats will have a supermajority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

While McCombie admits she is not happy that Republicans in the House of Representatives did not gain the five seats she predicted earlier this year, she believes this proves that Illinois has one of the most unfair legislative plans in the US and that the This year’s election results are not a mandate for continued one-party control in Springfield.

“Voters across Illinois sent a message last Tuesday. They’ve had enough, and they don’t want any more selfish politicians pretending to care about Illinois families while pushing their progressive agenda,” McCombie said.

Last week, Pritzker made it clear that he would not bend to the will of the new Trump administration. He said Trump would have to go through him to reach the people of Illinois. He has since teamed up with Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat, to form a group called Governors Safeguarding Democracy.

“I love this job and I believe I can do a lot to protect people from the problems that seem to want to come out of Washington, D.C., over the next two years,” Pritzker said Wednesday.

House Republicans also called on Pritzker and legislative Democrats to work with them on a bipartisan budget, following calls from Senate Republican leadership Tuesday. The calls come so early projections from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget show the state is likely to face a budget deficit of $3.2 billion for the 2026 budget year. Revenues are expected to remain flat at around $53.4 billion, while expenses are expected to rise.

A spokesperson for Pritzker released a statement in response to Tuesday’s Senate GOP press conference:

“The Governor will submit a balanced budget, as he has done every year since taking office, and he remains committed to taking steps to further improve Illinois’ fiscal position and address any potential budget shortfalls. If Republicans in the General Assembly want to come to the table and work on a practical, balanced budget, they are always welcome to do so — but past experience shows that this kind of ostentatious political theater is the extent of their executable concern for the state . economy.”