GOP State House hopeful Doug Jameson wishes that the new $38.5 billion state budget did more of what its supporters so adamantly claim it does.

“I’m thankful [that] we have a balanced budget without any major new tax increases, but this plan just doesn’t go far enough,” Jameson told the Metro East Sun. “For example, it does nothing to pay down our spiraling debt or address all the growing pension liability.”

Even though he hasn’t seen the Illinois Policy Institute analysis that says the plan is at least $1.5 billion out of balance, Jameson said he isn’t surprised by the numbers and has no reason to be skeptical of them.

“There’s always a lot of magic math involved in this when it comes to the estimating process,” said Jameson, a Belleville Republican who is challenging Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) in the 113th District. “And we already know some of the best things coming out of this plan stem from what the federal government did with the Trump tax reform plan.”

In the end, Jameson said the only way for the state to truly rescue itself is for lawmakers to religiously focus on a plan to not increase taxes.

“What we’ve got to do is increase the base by attracting new businesses and home owners who want to be here based on the direction we’re guiding the state,” he said. “That’s got to be a prominent part of any real rebuild effort we put forth for Illinois. That’s the only way you reverse this growing trend of outmigration and put us in a position to better compete with all the adjacent states.”