Illinois lawmakers say they are now on a sound fiscal path, but that only comes after the state received huge grants from Uncle Sugar. From Mark Glennon at wirepoints.org:
We finally have a more comprehensive tally of the grotesquely oversized federal assistance dispensed under the guise of pandemic relief. It’s from CRFB, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and it’s broken down by states. It obliterates claims made by Illinois lawmakers that they’ve put this state on a sound fiscal path. Illinois, instead, was temporarily bailed out.
The total amount committed or disbursed to public and private sector recipients in Illinois is $138 billion and growing, the CRFB shows. Another $24 billion is allowed for Illinois under federal legislation already passed.
The current total of $138 billion may even shock many who have been following the federal bailout. That’s because most reporting to date has focused only on the direct aid to the state under the recent American Rescue Plan Act, which was only $8.1 billion. CRFB’s $138 billion total state aid includes distributed aid to both the public and private sector across Illinois:
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- Loan and Grant Programs: $63.5 billion
- State & Local Funding: $16.2 billion
- Income Support: $24.3 billion
- Direct Payments: $10.0 billion
- Health Spending: $7.86 billion
- Other Spending: $4.01 billion
- Administrative: $5.95 billion
- Lending Facilities: $4.04 billion
- Other Loan Purchase Programs: $1.59 billion
STRAIGHT LINE LOGIC 