Galesburg Reporter

In a Feb. 15 Facebook post, Rep. Travis Weaver (R-Pekin) posted a video that contained mostly criticism for  Gov. J.B. Pritzker's State of the State Address.

In his post, he said, "I'll continue to stay down here and fight for you until we get our spending in check so that we're not kicking the burden to our kids."  

"I think that my biggest takeaway from this address is we now know what happens when the bailouts bottom out," Weaver said in the video. "We don't have $1.4 billion that the federal government gave us last year, however the government is proposing $2.75 billion in new ongoing operational spending. That's $4 billion that we're gonna be incurring every single year and passing on to our kids."

Weaver called for reduced taxes all around.

"We've got to attract a new job creators to Illinois and the only way that we're going to do that is by lowering our property taxes, our income taxes and our sales taxes," Weaver said. "Until we tighten the belt and get our spending in line we're never going to be able to bring down our taxes."

In his State of the State address, Pritzker touted fiscal progress. 

"What was once an Illinois with $17 billion in overdue bills is now an Illinois that pays its bills on time," Pritzker said. "What was once an Illinois that went years without a budget is now an Illinois that has passed four balanced budgets in a row. What was once a state with no cushion to protect it in an economic downturn is now an Illinois on track to have a $2.3 billion Rainy Day Fund."

He also listed the billions in debt that has been paid off.

"Remember the $230 million in College Illinois debt? Paid," Pritzker said. "Remember the $900 million in group health insurance debt? Paid. How about the $800 million Thompson center liability? Paid."

He also spoke of Smart Start Illinois, an initiative that affects how early childhood education programs are funded. This four-year program encompasses pre-kindergarten, childcare, early intervention and home visiting services. It would increase the current Early Childhood Block Grant Program budget by $75 million.

Weaver took his seat to represent the 93rd District in January. He hails from Edwards, not far from his family's farm based in Peoria. Weaver has been involved in both finance and strategy roles at Caterpillar Equipment and Machinery Corporation, while also investing in and leading various startup companies locally.