With the 104th Illinois General Assembly sworn into office, legislators hit the ground running and Representative Dan Swanson informs the budget is a main priority:
“The budget, we are looking at a $3.5 billion hole right now. We hear from Chicago Transit Authority, they need $1 billion to try and fix their problems, the Chicago Teachers Union is asking for $1 – $3 billion, and we have to continue pension payments. We have to live up to our obligation of $350 million for the Evidence Based Funding models, there is just a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration of where this money is going to come from to fill this hole. We are no longer getting federal funds from COVID. We continually talk to Speaker Welch and the budgeteers to let us in on those discussions.”
The 104th General Assembly reconvenes in Springfield for the Spring Session on January 28th.