>> It's crunch time in Springfield with the deadline to pass the state budget for next fiscal year.

Less than 2 weeks away, lawmakers are working to hammer out a balance spending plan amid federal funding uncertainties and mounting pressure from agencies asking for more money.

The governor's office is also projecting state revenues to be over half a billion dollars less than expected in February when he proposed his budget plan.

Here with more on how the budget process is going are Democratic State Representative La Shawn Ford and Republican State Senator Don DeWitt.

Gentlemen, thanks to both for joining us.

So you're already kind of far along in this process, right?

Only recently finding out that revenue estimates are shorter than they were predicted to be in February sales.

Tax income is down 150 million dollars federal dollars for programs like Medicaid and Medicare down 278 million and corporate income taxes down 88 Million.

And as we mentioned, the governor's office had already projected a 500 million dollar shortfall.

What is your reaction to these to these shortfalls?

Representative for to start with you, right, as I think that the governor and the leaders are doing a good job.

>> Looking at the uncertainty of Washington.

They had to readjust the revenue forecasts and had go down and the projections because of the possible recession.

So the governor and speaker House and president, the Senate, they've been doing a great job watching the market watching the federal funds that's coming in and making sure that we're prepared to take care of families in Illinois, regardless to how devastating Congress is acting toward Illinois.

>> Senator DeWitt, same question to you.

What do you think with your reaction when you hear about these shortfalls?

>> Well, I don't know that there's any significant dollars that have actually been accounted for that have been withheld by the federal government.

There was some federal dollars, some programs that discontinued, pandemic proven programs that were used to allow food pantries to acquire locally grown products here in Illinois.

But their product, that program was probably going away any way with the pandemic.

finally coming to an end.

Look, it's no surprise that there are significant revenue shortfalls.

We knew back in February and we made it clear that the day before the governor's budget address in February, there was a 3 billion dollar deficit in the revenue stream.

Miraculously the day before that number shrank to a billion dollars.

The reality is that's where it actually stands today.

The governor's talking about a 500 million dollar shortfall in revenue.

But there's actually another 470 million dollars in tax increases that are incorporated into this new budget.

He's still a billion dollar short on revenue and it's time for the governor start tightening his belt when it comes to protecting the taxpayers of Illinois.

>> So here's a bit of what Governor Pritzker said last week about the state's budget challenges.

>> This is certainly a tough year, but I would remind you that if you look around the country, every state is facing this challenge right now.

It's partly because of the slowdown of the expected slowdown of the overall economy.

Since the new administration came into office.

>> So senator, How much of these budget challenges do you think can be attributed to the Trump administration's changes in movements?

>> Well, I don't think any of the proposed challenges that the governor suggesting can be attributed to the change of administration in Washington right now.

Again, like I mentioned, when we sat with the governor's own Office of Management and Budget during appropriation hearings last 2 to 3 weeks.

I specifically asked his director, can you attribute any dollars that have been welcomed with help from the state Illinois for federal programs?

The only one she could the only one she could sign or relay was that federal fund to acquire for for the state to require food for food banks across the state Illinois.

Medicare is looking got some potential cuts.

But frankly, I think that's something that every state, specifically Illinois needs to be looking at when it comes to the waste and fraud that occurs and Medicaid spending here in Illinois, I don't have a problem with the federal government looking at every single dollar being spent on those federal programs right now.

And what's going to be important is whether the governor chooses to respond to those in in a financially responsible manner, whether he's just going to continue to gin up his support base as it continues to run for president and decide that he's going to make that an issue.

1, one really doesn't exist.

>> Well, I tell you, it's clear that the president's tariffs caused the consumer business community and the market too be worried and the law and that slows down any economy and it hurts our economy here in Illinois.

And so Washington, the Republican Congress, people and senators, they're hurting the economy because they won't stand up to this administration.

Illinois is already a donor state where we send more money to Washington than we return.

So I think that it's unfair that.

Our senator here doesn't recognize that we actually are being hurt by President Trump's policies.

>> Representative Ford, some Democrats, of course, are also pushing for additional funding for various programs that may not be possible without tax increases.

And I think a lot of voters and constituents probably want to know.

What kind of tax increases might be possible?

>> Well, we hope that we don't have to raise taxes on on people.

But our goal is to work through this budget and do everything that we can to take care of.

Families in Illinois.

We know that we've lost at your higher in appropriations and we've lost almost 300 million dollars in federal money from this administration along.

And that's a problem.

300 million that impacts our students going to college, start pumping Universal's often use.

And, you know, we know and the people that suffer from opioid challenges, substance use disorders.

There are nonprofits out here is not just our universities, but there are nonprofits that it's partnering with the state to take care of the most vulnerable people.

The homeless population, their funds have been cut.

And so we have a problem because federal government has our economy in uncertain state.

>> It meanwhile, agencies like the regional Transit Authority in Chicago, public schools are calling on the state to provide more funds.

Senator, to welcome to you on this one.

First, what is the likelihood of the state come to the rescue for those?

>> Well, I regarding the RTA specifically, I think we're looking at her potential new revenue streams that can help solve the problems that the RTA is currently having.

There's no question that the pandemic significantly reduce the number of travelers using mass transit across Chicago every day and federal dollars that were appropriated through arpa funding have dried up very similar to the situation we are now facing here in Illinois.

Those federal dollars that were granted the state of Illinois has now dried up.

And for years we've been cautioning the governor that we have to start tightening our belt.

Instead, he went had incorporated those revenues into operations and administrative programming.

But now there's no revenue around to support.

But to my friend, Representative Sean's comments, you know, we're 47th in the nation with regards to our economic stability.

We have one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

Those are problems created in Washington, D.C., those are problems created right here by the governor who continues to spend every dollar he can get his hands on a 32% increase in the state budget since he came into office in 2019.

My life is not 40% better.

My friends, neighbors lives are not 40% better.

But the state of Illinois is continuing to spend every dollar they can get their hands Senator, we've got about 25 seconds left and I give representative for a chance to respond.

important to know that our fy 25 budget had no money in it.

>> We ran our budget without any federal money from due to COVID funds.

So I think it's just important to know that if you are.

Regular person and you're not a part of the one percent.

The Republicans in Washington, they're gonna hurt you and they're gonna Kutcher your food.

You're going to cut your health.

You're going to cut education.

And I think we have to stand up to the Republicans in Washington.

I'm guessing centered with probably has a different feeling on that.

But we'll have to get that next time.

We