Illinois State Senator Sue Rezin: Expanding Expenditures

Letter from Illinois State Senator Sue Rezin – On Feb. 15, Gov. JB Pritzker proposed his fifth budget to the Illinois General Assembly during his annual Budget and State of the State Address. While he painted an idealistic image of Illinois’ fiscal outlook, he also failed to address the looming realities the Illinois economy is likely to see. ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌

Expanding Expenditures   Governor Proposes $3 Billion Spending Increase During Budget Address. The plan laid out by the Governor increases permanent state spending by $3 billion, despite expert warnings of decreased revenue likely to be brought on by a recession. In the last few years, Illinois has benefited from a massive influx of federal dollars and increased revenues due to COVID-19 relief programs and inflation. Despite these very real threats, the Governor’s outlined budget plan further expands state government—an increase of more than $10 billion since he took office.     In need of relief       Republican Legislators Seek Relief for Families on Power Bills. At the Capitol on Feb. 14, several Republican legislators joined together calling for action to address the rising cost of energy, which has and will continue to impact families and businesses across the state. State Senator Sue Rezin says she is backing the following package of bills to address these issues: Senate Bill 2200: Provides much-needed relief for Ameren residential and commercial customers, who were subject to increased rates last summer. Allocates $200 million (about $170 per customer) in rebates to affected consumers that would be broken up into monthly bill credits likely occurring from April through October. The Legislature approved an Ameren rate relief package during last month’s lame-duck session, but the money was never appropriated. Senate Bill 1548: Cuts burdensome regulatory “red tape” at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which has prevented new power plants from coming online in a timely manner. Senate Bill 1547: Creates the Power Grid Task Force requiring the General Assembly to look at the impacts that energy policies are having on Illinois’ ability to produce the required amount of energy to meet Illinois’ needs. In addition to supporting legislative action, Sen. Rezin is also encouraging the Governor to take executive action to immediately increase the power supply on the grid while also revising permit procedures to expedite the development of new natural gas plants. Right now, there are more than 2,000 megawatts of clean, gas-generated power that can be instantly added to the energy supply.     A heartwarming celebration     The U.S. Celebrates American Heart Month! February is American Heart Month, a designated period where the U.S. strives to address the number one killer of Americans – heart disease. This month has been declared by the president for the past 59 years, and this year the focus will be on the importance of CPR. More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside a hospital and 70 percent of those occur at home. Meanwhile, performing CPR can double or triple the chance of survival for a person in cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association has a list of CPR classes at www.Heart.org/CPR.   Talk about revitalizing     Local Revitalization Grant Program Will Open in Spring. Local Revitalization Grant Program Will Open in Spring. This spring will bring a developing program from the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IDHA) called the Strong Communities Program (SCP). This program is designed to provide competitive grants to various municipalities, counties and land banks that will go toward either the maintenance or demolition of abandoned residential properties.   While the approval process for these grants has not yet started, now is the best time to start thinking ahead about community applications. In previous years, it was also possible to submit a single application for a combination of counties/municipalities, although only one application can be submitted per unit. Any grant funds may be used for securing, maintaining, demolishing, or rehabilitating abandoned residential properties.