The Illinois Senate voted early Saturday morning to approve a $40 billion spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1 as the General Assembly entered its overtime session.
The plan, approved on a 40-19 vote, follows an earlier 83-35 bipartisan vote by the state House. It would increase by $25 million the $350 million annual boost in public grade school and high school funding required under last year’s rewrite of the formula used by the state to dole out money to schools.
It also would provide an increase of $66 million, or 5%, in funding for public colleges and universities, many of which were devastated during the state’s historic budget impasse under former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Also included were a $50 million increase in funding for Monetary Award Program awards for students from low-income households and a $10 million increase in non-income-related Aim High grants for student achievers.
The spending plan also adds at least $50 million for the Department of Children and Family Services in an attempt to address problems within the agency, including high caseloads and the deaths of children whose families had involvement with the agency.
The plan avoided the smaller tax hikes Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker had originally proposed to fund the operating budget.
Action on the budget came after hours of negotiations with Pritzker and the four partisan leaders of the House and Senate. Republicans, though a minority party in the legislature, sought concessions from Pritzker aimed at helping the business community in future legislation.
“I am very glad these matters are being taken into consideration,” said House Republican leader Rep. Jim Durkin of Western Springs, citing several business credits and tax incentives in the plan. “Tonight is the start of us finishing up this year working on a budget that is balanced and fair to Illinoisans.”
State Rep. Greg Harris, the Chicago legislator who headed up budget talks for majority House Democrats, said the plan also allows for borrowing $1.2 billion to help pay down a multibillion-dollar backlog of overdue bills to providers of state services that grew exponentially during the budget impasse.
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“This is a good budget for the state of Illinois. It is balanced and it is fiscally responsible,” Harris said.
Senators also approved and sent the House a $45 billion public works construction program backed by Pritzker. The proposal includes $33.2 billion for roads and bridges, $3.5 billion for educational building construction, $4.3 billion for state facilities and deferred maintenance.
But neither chamber took action on legislation to pay for the capital construction plan. Tax increases, including a $1 increase in the levy for a pack of cigarettes, a doubling of the state’s 19-cent-per-gallon motor fuel tax, and higher fees for license plates and driver’s licenses are among the revenue sources.
Another budget-related measure that passed the Senate and moved to the House contained a provision that would allow the state to enter into contract negotiations with the developers of a $3.8 billion transit center as part of a mega-development along Lake Shore Drive across from Soldier Field.
Landmark Development is proposing a 34-acre development over train tracks between McCormick Place and the Field Museum. Under the Landmark’s proposal, the company and investors would cover the upfront costs of building the transit center, and the developer and the state would together pay off the remaining costs over 20 years using new tax revenue, leasing income and other funds. The state then would assume ownership of the center, which would bring together CTA, Metra and Amtrak trains, and collect all the revenue generated.
The House plans to return to work on Saturday. The Senate plans to return but the date is uncertain.
Source Article from https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-met-illinois-budget-20190531-story.html
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