THE ILLINOIZE: Pritzker admin tells agencies to start cutting

November 26, 2024

Good morning, Illinois.

Psst. Our website is still up.

If you weren’t tracking statewide turnout numbers, around 5.8 million people voted in the presidential election in Illinois, according to the Associated Press. That’s down from over 6 million in 2020 and higher than 5.54 million in 2016.

A couple of notes:

• In Illinois, Vice President Kamala Harris (3.06 million) is vastly underperforming President Biden’s 2020 total in the state (3.47 million).

• Donald Trump’s 2024 total (2.44 million) is on par with his 2020 total (2.45 million) and ahead of his 2016 performance (2.15 million).

• Harris still won the state by 11 points, but her vote share fell to 54.8% compared to Biden’s 57.5% in 2020 and Clinton’s 55.8% in 2016.

• Trump’s vote share increased, though, to 43.8% this year to 40.6% in 2020 and 38.8% in 2016.

• Trump’s best county was Edwards County, the tiny southern Illinois county, where he got 85%. Cook County was Harris’ best county at 70%. Her next highest was Champaign County, at 60%.

There’s nothing on Governor Pritzker’s public schedule today. The legislature is out until January.

Let’s get to it.

PRITZKER ADMINISTRATION TELLS AGENCIES TO PREPARE FOR CUTS

The day after the election, Governor JB Pritzker was asked about his reaction to a report from his own Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) that outlined a possible $3 billion budget deficit for the next fiscal year, which begins next July.