Democrats in Springfield are celebrating approval of legislation that wipes out $4.1 billion in debt. In fewer than 24 hours last week, lawmakers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker OK’d a package that significantly reduces the state tab in the pandemic-battered Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, wipes out $898 million in unpaid obligations to employee group health insurance, puts up $230 million —…
The GOP has a simpler solution. Use ARPA funds to backfill the entire hole — an idea they put forward a year ago when most states were rectifying their unemployment fund problems. Republicans say $4.5 billion isn’t sufficient because it still leaves the account empty. The generally accepted target UI fund balance is $1 billion. It was about $1.2 billion at the start of the pandemic, according to Demmer.
But Pritzker’s Office of Management and Budget says while money is on the books, that doesn’t mean it isn’t spoken for. OMB records show that legislative appropriations, including those expected in the coming year, leave just $800 million left. Of course, $1 billion was also set aside for capital construction projects of Democrats’ choosing, pork-barrel spending Republicans were not shy about publicizing during debate on the legislation.
For a single person who worked full time, current unemployment benefits amount to just under half the previous salary — capped at about $480 per week — and run for 26 weeks.
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