Democrats
Illinois Dems Bank on a Congressional Bailout
State budget relies on billions in federal assistance
Charles Fain Lehman - May 26, 2020 4:00 PM
Illinois Democrats passed a state budget over the weekend that relies on billions in still-not-guaranteed federal dollars to avoid a gaping deficit.
The state's 2021 budget, now headed to Gov. J. B. Pritzker's (D.) desk, is written with the expectation that the $3.5 billion the state received under the CARES Act will be freed up for general spending. That would require Congress to change limitations on those funds, which currently can only be spent on expenses directly related to coronavirus—not general fiscal costs.
The bill also gives Pritzker the authority to borrow up to $5 billion from the Federal Reserve as part of a program backstopped by Congress.
Pritzker's political gambit is likely to add further fuel to the heated debate in Congress over a state and local bailout. Illinois, with its chronically underfunded pensions, has already been at the center of that debate, with Republicans arguing that federal dollars should not go toward bailing out state governments that failed to save for a rainy day. The State Democrats' move will give ammo to both Republicans, who oppose an unconditional bailout, and federal Democrats, who have insisted that states need more money with no strings attached.
Pritzker acknowledged Sunday morning that without an end to the congressional standoff over a federal bailout for state and local governments, the budget will not balance, telling reporters, "We're relying on them to do the right thing for Republican-led states and Democratic states."
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https://freebeacon.com/democrats/illinois-dems-bank-on-a-congressional-bailout/
