Capitol Fox Pontiac Daily Leader "What if" games are never quite accurate, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Gov. JB Pritzker had the opportunity and most probably the votes to balance the state budget with an income tax hike during 2019, his “honeymoon” year with the General Assembly. Instead, the governor came into office and proposed what was essentially a pension payment holiday and other magic budgetary solutions. I was told in early 2019 by a high-level administration figure with influence over the budget that the Pritzker administration would not take the “easy” route of raising taxes and wanted to instead focus on the “hard” choices.