Illinoisans Pay $77 Billion More in Taxes Under Pritzker as Governor Pushes for More Hikes

Governor J.B. Pritzker is proposing another round of tax increases after presiding over at least 57 tax and fee hikes since taking office in 2019, with the cumulative burden on Illinois taxpayers now exceeding $77 billion.

The median Illinois household pays nearly $1,400 more in state taxes annually than it would have under prior levels. Last year alone, Illinoisans paid $16.5 billion more in state taxes than they would have if taxes had remained consistent with 2018 levels.

Property taxes have risen 27 percent under Pritzker's watch, according to Illinois Policy. While property tax increases are driven by local decisions, state policy around pension and school funding has pressured local governments and contributed to those hikes.

The state still maintains the nation's third-lowest emergency reserves. Illinois faces $143.5 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, with three of the country's worst-funded state-run systems. A forecast projects $21 billion in state budget shortfalls over the next five years.

"This is not a revenue problem, something Pritzker himself has acknowledged. Illinois' core budget issue is chronic overspending, which consistently outpaces economic growth."

Pritzker's proposed budget for fiscal 2027 includes almost $600 million in business tax hikes, including a first-of-its-kind social media use tax. The plan would tax social media companies with at least 100,000 users in Illinois on a graduated scale beginning at 10 cents per user each month.

Platforms with a million or more users would be taxed $165,000 each month, plus 50 cents each month on the number of users over a million.

"The hallmark of the plan is a new tax on social media companies," said Governor Pritzker during his budget address on February 18, 2026. "Those companies are profiting from online engagement of Illinois consumers, and they currently contribute nothing to ameliorate the negative effects of their platforms."

The governor's proposal also includes adjusting a cap on operating losses reported by businesses and aligning taxes on table and electronic games with each other.

Illinois continues to post one of the slowest economic growth rates in the nation. The state needs structural reform, not more taxes, according to critics. Until lawmakers get serious about fixing government pensions and controlling state spending, new taxes will not fix what is broken.

Illinois Policy notes that the governor wants more tax and fee hikes even after presiding over at least 57 of them since 2019 and with Illinois' budget still in dysfunction.

Recent tax policy moves under Pritzker include:

• The gas tax was doubled in 2019 from $0.19 to $0.38 per gallon and indexed to annual increases to inflation. It now stands at 48.3 cents per gallon.
• The net-operating-loss deduction was capped in 2021, effectively double-taxing Illinois companies.
• A bill decoupling Illinois from federal business tax cuts was signed late last year.

The governor's budget office said it is not assuming the worst-case economic scenario in FY27, based on S&P Global's January outlook showing a stable forecast.

Federal uncertainty looms as the administration expects to win court battles to continue receiving federal funding that President Donald Trump's administration has attempted to cut. About $1 billion in child care funding is currently in limbo as the state sues to continue receiving funding.

Pritzker said when Trump took office, he was hopeful the election-year threats to gut programs were "the kind of unrealistic hyperbole that fuels a presidential campaign but then is abandoned when cooler heads prevail."

Instead, the president stuck to those pledges — and Pritzker pegged the fallout at $8.4 billion for the state.

"These are not handouts," he said. "These are dollars that real Illinoisans paid in federal taxes and that have been constitutionally approved by our elected Democratic and Republican representatives in Washington."