SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois House Democrats Wednesday night passed SB2803.
It’s a plan to appropriate $2.7 billion from the American Rescue Plan toward the unemployment fund to address the state’s current $4.5 billion deficit.
The bill also includes investments for pension obligations, group health insurance, and college student assistance.
$230 million from the general revenue fund is earmarked for the College Illinois program, $300 million would go to the state’s pension stabilization fund and an additional $898 million would go to the state employee group insurance plan.
The plan passed on a partisan 68-43 vote.
The bill now goes back to the Illinois Senate for consideration.
Democrats say the plan needs to get to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk for approval this week to meet a federal deadline for that spending.
Pritzker celebrated the bill’s passage Wednesday night and thanked Democrats who worked on making it possible. The governor said Illinois is putting the fiscal house in order by paying off this debt.
“I’m disappointed that Republicans are putting their politics ahead of fiscal responsibility while Democrats in the General Assembly are taking the lead to put our fiscal house in order,” Pritzker said.
