Overview
In his 2026 State of the State and Budget address, Governor JB Pritzker unveiled his administration’s proposed state budget for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) of $56 billion.
A Budget Signals an Administration's Priorities
While the legislature won’t negotiate and approve the final budget until late May, the governor’s proposed budget signals the administration’s priorities. Decision-makers fund what matters most to them amid ever-evolving competing priorities. It’s no small task and has generational impacts. As usual, there are more needs than funds, and not every environmental priority will make the cut.
The Federal Government's Impact on the Illinois Budget
This year’s budget is set in a somewhat familiar context: fiscal experts initially projected a $2.2 billion budget gap, but that figure is now likely to be revised down. What’s new is a Trump administration unabashed its efforts to wield politically motivated, punitive budgeting practices to restrict federal tax dollars from coming back home to “blue” states like Illinois.
Trump’s sweeping ‘Big Ugly Bill’ from last year brings big changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that a recent Governor’sOffice of Management and Budget (GOMB) study says could cause hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents to lose those benefits, impacting the state budget. The prospect is alarming enough for the governor’s office to draft up contingency plans in anticipation of possible drastic cuts in federal funding for education, health care, and other areas.
A Legacy Budget Issue
The state is also grappling with legacy budget issues closer to home, namely, our long-deferred pension funding problem. Gov. Pritzker is stepping up with a proposal to address the issue. We expect this to be among the most-discussed budget items this session.
Budget Improvements and Highlights
Gov. Pritzker remains the nation’s top Climate Governor—a fact we are proud to shout from the rooftops. With that accolade comes the responsibility to continue pushing for new and innovative climate strategies and funding core government functions that protect our environment alike. We’d like to see the governor and legislators work to prioritize the following areas of improvement as budget negotiations transpire:
- The Local Food Infrastructure Grant was zeroed out from $2 million last year, a huge blow to an incredible government program making an impact in communities across the state.
- Reduction in overall budgets to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
Despite these financial challenges, Gov. Pritzker continues to practice fiscal responsibility, delivering balanced budgets and increasingly fund state government at appropriate levels. We were especially excited to see:
- A significant increase in public transit and railroad expenditures, with a $760 million increase in Northern Illinois Transit for FY27, resulting from one of our big legislative wins last year, the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act.
- More capital funding to support clean water and waste reduction concerns in the state, including funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support Lead Service Line Replacement Loans, address emerging contaminants in wastewater and drinking water.
Additionally, during his remarks, Gov. Pritzker introduced two new proposals impacting our environment.
- A two-year pause on the authorization of new data center tax credits
- An executive order directing state agencies to explore the development of new nuclear projects in Illinois
These proposals will deeply intersect Illinois’ climate and clean energy future. A moratorium on new data center tax credits could pause or slow the development of these sites in Illinois as we work to create a climate, community, and water framework through the POWER Act. We will also be closely following the executive order for 2 GW of new nuclear power, which could cause serious negative impacts to the environment, communities, and climate without sufficient planning and oversight.
Again, the budget introduced is just the first step in this process. As the legislative session progresses, IEC and our affiliates will continue to advocate for our environmental priorities and monitor the budgetary progress over the next few months, fighting for our environmental priorities.
Below is our complete initial analysis of Governor Pritzker’s proposed FY27 state budget.
Conservation & Sustainable Agriculture
- The DNR budget has decreased by $6.74 million, including a concerning General Revenue Fund decrease, but increases staff headcount by 26.5 people
- A reduction to $360,000 for the Fall Covers for Spring Savings program, a $300k decrease from FY26
- Soil and Water Conservation Districts remain level to FY25 at $4.5 million, which is $5.5 million less than what is critically needed
- $1 million reappropriated for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
- $37.5 million in new funding proposed for the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant program
- $38 million overall decrease for the IDOA, including a $43 million federal fund decrease for FY27 when compared to FY26 enacted appropriations
- $500,000 for first-year cost-share on a flood mitigation feasibility study with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in East St. Louis
- $10 million from the new State Facility Repair and Maintenance Fund to address annual repair and maintenance needs at state parks, historic sites, and recreational areas
- Realigns appropriation authority for federal funding received from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to improve efficiency and compliance with federal requirements
- Cut Local Food Infrastructure Grant entirely
Clean Energy
Funding for important renewable energy, climate and CEJA programs, including:
- $56 million to the Renewable Energy Resources Fund for the Illinois Power Agency
- Coal to Solar and Energy Storage initiative funding at $28 million
- Level funding at $2 million for Abandoned Mine Lands
- $2 million to the Renewable Energy Grants for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which remains level funding from FY26
- $2 million to the Climate Jobs Institute at the University of Illinois
- $2 million from the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to Climate Pollution Reduction Grant planning, including zero waste initiatives
- $100 million for grants in accordance with the Safety and Aid for the Environment in Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act (SAFE CCS Act)
- $803 million appropriated for consumer utility bill credits through the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Green Workforce
- $350 million allocated to the Energy Transition Act
- $1.1 million allocated to Displaced Energy Worker Dependent Transition Scholarship Program
- Allocates $350 million to the Energy Transition Assistance Fund at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which remains level funding from FY26
Equitable Transportation
- $508 million to support operations of downstate public transit agencies, a $20 million increase from FY26
- Maintained $140 million for statewide projects that include biking and walking paths, trails, streetscape beautification, and other improvements through the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program
- Increased Vehicle Inspection Fund to $33.5 million to support costs of new vehicle inspections, a $1.5 million increase from FY26
- Funded support operations of North East Illinois transit system at $1.5 billion, a $760 million increase from FY26
- Increased funds from Rebuild Illinois to $4.5 billion for mass transit State of Good Repair (SGR) funding for downstate transit and Northeastern Illinois Transit, and increase of $600 million from FY 26
- $570 million sales tax allocation to the Road Fund and deposits $3 million into the Local Government Distributive Fund, the Downstate Public Transportation Fund, and the Public Transportation Fund
- Cycle Rider Safety Training Program is funded at $26 million, about a $1 million increase over FY26 (though estimated to only spend $7 million in FY26)
- $79 million allocated to support passenger rail, which remains flat from last year
- $24 million to High Speed Rail, and $8 million increase from FY 26
Electric Vehices (EVs)
- $14 million for EV rebates outlined in CEJA
- $24.8 million for the purchase of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure by Central Management Services, 176 EVs currently owned by the state
- $214,000 salary funding for an electric vehicle coordinator, an increase from $208,200
- $10 million for CEJA admin costs, including state fleet electrification
- $7 million in EV and advanced manufacturing curriculum at community colleges, a $2 million decrease
- $0 in EV-focused vocational training through the Clean Energy EV Career and Technical Education pilot program, which was funded $10 million in 2025, and reappropriations planned for 2026 and 2027
- In 2025, announces $65 million in grants made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, supporting 70 projects throughout the state
Clean Water & Waste
- $37 million in newly appropriated and $45.9 million in reappropriated Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds to combat emerging contaminants in drinking water
- $9 million in newly appropriated and $23.5 million in reappropriated IIJA funds to combat emerging contaminants in wastewater
- IIJA funding will provide the following:
- $440 million in new funding and $637.1 million in reappropriated funding for the Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) Program
- $75 million new appropriation and $116.4 million reappropriation for additional Drinking Water loans
- $37 million new appropriation and $45.9 million reappropriation to address drinking water emerging contaminants
- $110 million new appropriation and $182.9 million reappropriation for additional Wastewater Loan Program loans
- IEPA will receive an allocation of federal IIJA funding of approximately $1.3 billion for lead service line replacement loans
- Includes $90 million to address emerging contaminants in small and disadvantaged communities to confront per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) pollution and $1.07 billion in funding for Lead Service Line Replacement.
- Includes a $1.5 million increase to expand the Household Hazardous Waste Collection, $2.5 million new appropriation for recycling-related activities, and $4.3 million reappropriation for the Solid Waste Infrastructure and Recycling Education Program
- $3 million increase to support the Brownfields Redevelopment Grant Program
- $100 million in new bond funding for continued expansion of the IL EPA’s water loan programs through Rebuild Illinois, which will serve as the State’s 20% match to leverage an additional $400 million in federal capitalization grants
