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Home Front: Politix

Illinois Senate Democrats Seek Massive Federal Bailout for State, Going Far Beyond Coronavirus Impact

2020-04-21

[Just say NO to bailing out any state that can't watch how it spends and makes too many promises. And Illinois? Screw 'em.]

“It’s raining money out there! Quick, Lloyd, grab a coupla bucketsful!”

[Wirepoints] Wirepoints has obtained a copy of a letter detailing a federal bailout request sent by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Chicago) in substantially similar form to all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. The letter, which is reproduced below, was sent on April 14 on behalf of Harmon's 40-member Democratic caucus, which holds a majority in the Illinois Senate.

The requested bailout is galling in scope and shameless in purpose – a clear attempt to use the pandemic as cover to get federal money to pay for Illinois' pre-pandemic fiscal mismanagement, particularly of its pensions.
No
The Democratic caucus seeks well over $41.6 billion, including important crisis-related relief such as $1 billion in public-health aid to minority communities and unspecified amounts for increased Medicaid reimbursements and hardship payments to health care facilities.

But the vast majority of their request amounts to a national bailout of Illinois' pre-pandemic failures. It includes:

$15 billion for a no-strings-attached block grant;
$6 billion for the state's unemployment trust fund;
$10 billion for the state's pension funds; and,
$9.6 billion in unrestricted aid to Illinois municipalities, again for pensions.

The $15 billion for the state is more than double the state's projected losses caused by the pandemic and downturn, depending on how you count it. Gov. J.B. Pritzker released estimates on Wednesday. Pritzker said total budget shortfalls for this year and next total $6.2 billion, assuming the state's pending constitutional amendment to allow for a progressive tax increase passes in November. Harmon's letter claims revenue losses could exceed $14.1 billion, without explanation for the difference with Pritzker's numbers.

Also notable is that the $6 billion bailout for Illinois' unemployment trust fund stems from the state's comparatively poor management of it. Illinois, prior to the pandemic, had the fourth-worst funding level for that state fund.

The new bailout would be in addition to federal assistance already authorized by Congress and the Federal Reserve Bank. They include, for Illinois, approximately $4.9 billion under the new CARES Act and about $9.6 billion in a new Federal Reserve facility to purchase municipal bonds.

Chicago may also be seeking its own federal bailout money separately.
F*ck off
The biggest intended beneficiary of the requested bailout is obvious from the letter: pensions.

Harmon and the Democratic caucus admit that even in a normal year pension costs at the state level are crowding out funding for services and programs, yet they show no intention whatsoever of making reforms to correct preexisting problems. Instead, they seek $10 billion for state pensions alone. And the rationale for the $9.6 billion sought for municipalities is clear. Revenue losses resulting from the pandemic, their letter says, "will dramatically impact municipalities' abilities to fund retirement systems."

Illinois government spent the last three decades creating the nation's worst pension crisis. Now it wants taxpayers across the nation to bail it out.

Sanctuary Cities should get crap

Posted by:Clem

#14 Just issue muni junk bonds. If you go bankrupt, liquidate assets, downgrade from state to territory and remove all elected officials and replace with martial law.

There, that wasnt so hard, was it?

Posted by: Regular joe 2020-04-21 20:00

#13 Add 'Kane' to that little list, B.

Western Lake County isn't too bad, though.

Posted by: Mullah Richard 2020-04-21 16:01

#12 gorb, they'd muck that up too.

Not if I was the one who had to be satisfied. And remain so. :-)

Posted by: gorb 2020-04-21 15:08

#11 I hope to holy Hades they don't get a bail-out...any state or municipality. I understand the state's pension plan (Illinois) is protected/covered in the state's Constitution. I've not researched it myself, but I can believe it, knowing IL for what it is.

Posted by: Clem 2020-04-21 11:05

#10 Illinois has been on financial life support for a long time thanks to crooked left-wing (Dem) politics. No federal bail-out; they will just use the money to finance the campaigns of Dem politicians.

Posted by: JohnQC 2020-04-21 11:01

#9 In an election year, don't be surprised by anything, to include unjustified bail-outs.

Posted by: Clem 2020-04-21 10:41

#8 No problem with that, so long as Cook, Lake, and DuPage counties get NONE OF IT !

Posted by: Besoeker 2020-04-21 10:23

#7 Pension crisis = Ponzi scheme.

Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-04-21 10:15

#6 "pension crisis" = institutionalized graft.

These corrupt fooks are just shoveling money to themselves and their cronies.

Posted by: Lex 2020-04-21 09:52

#5 Never let a crisis go to waste.

Posted by: DarthVader 2020-04-21 09:49

#4 gorb, they'd muck that up too.

Posted by: Mullah Richard 2020-04-21 08:30

#3 I didn't vote them into debt. Why should anyone who didn't have a vote on their debt have to pay any of it?

Posted by: M. Murcek 2020-04-21 08:13

#2 Billion to good states, not a dime to corrupt states.

Posted by: Alistaire Tingle9882 2020-04-21 07:49

#1 Only if they pass voter ID and tighten up the voter rolls and mail-in ballots.

Posted by: gorb 2020-04-21 02:14

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