Posted on 04/17/2020 7:01:07 PM PDT by Theoria
The president of the State Senate asked for $40 billion to help the pension system, fund unemployment insurance and aid hospitals and cities.
Illinois needs more than $40 billion in relief from the federal government because of the coronavirus pandemic — including $10 billion to help bail out its beleaguered pension system, according to a letter the Illinois Senate president sent to members of Congress.
The letter, sent this week by State Senator Don Harmon, also seeks a $15 billion grant to “stabilize the state’s budget,” $9.6 billion in direct aid to Illinois’s cities, $6 billion for the state’s unemployment insurance fund, and hardship money for hospitals and nursing homes, among other things.
“I realize I’ve asked for a lot, but this is an unprecedented situation,” Mr. Harmon, a Democrat, wrote in the letter to the state’s congressional delegation, a copy of which was viewed by The New York Times. A spokesman confirmed that Mr. Harmon had written the letter.
The letter was shared with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, also a Democrat, who said this week that the federal government should provide more funding to states. Messages left for State Senator Bill Brady, the minority leader, were not immediately returned on Friday evening. Democrats hold 40 of the State Senate's 59 seats.
The letter said the outbreak had caused economic havoc in the state, which has been under a stay-home order since March 21. Economic activity has frozen up across the country, causing tax collections to evaporate while spending has soared.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I use to think that we could/would somehow control Federal spending. Now days everybody wants federal money for some reason or another. I still say NO, but I am beginning to think ‘the hell with it”. Send me $2000 a month even if I am working making good money. I can always use the extra $2k to buy more ammo, more freeze dried food, more heavy duty clothes and boots. Break the system now while most of us are still young enough to rebuild and make damn sure we write some rules that will control the damn politicians. (Pipe dream I am sure, but why not shoot for the moon?)
So many of these pension funds were well on their way to bankruptcy before this virus hit. Now they are going for a bailout of what was going to fail anyways due to super bad management. So I guess this is another reason whey the democrats want to keep the virus around as long as they can.
It seems that this Virus epidemic was tailored just for them.
Hey, Obama bailed the state employee unions out with the last “stimulus” (shovel ready jobs, remember those?). I guess they figure they can try it again. I’m betting Trump will tell them where to stick it.
This is where they’re going for it? A very weak play.
Pelosi can’t let Illinois go to the front of the line. They might get a piece of it at best.
Are we being blunt here?
How the HECK can we pay tens of trillions back when we can’t even stop yearly trillion dollar deficits??
At least Japan had us beat with 200 percent debt to GDP
Now I fear we are closing in on that.
We will owe 1/20 of a quadrillion dollars in maybe 10 or 15 years if things don’t change.
We will owe a decent sized percentage of a number I never knew until the debt got higher and higher and I got curious what came next.
It’s a tough choice. Fighting to rebuild now and push back the tide or let it burn to the ground and start over.
I’m going with the first one at least while Trump is in office.
Perhaps once he wins a second term, he will really tackle the debt.
If Illinois gets a bailout, then California and New York will be next in line, for federal money to cover their shortfalls.
The payouts will never end.
winnah winnah chicken dinnah.
The hell with illinoying. I am just trying to set things up so my kids get thru the collapse ok.
.. help the pension system? LOLLOLOLOLOLOL!!
SCREW YOU!!!!!
Rat fight? Dunno, Pelosi has been steam rolling over everybody as of late. 2 Trillion will be a drop in the bucket compared to the next one.
I agree. Not one bloody penny to a state for pensions they knew they eventually wouldn’t be able to afford.
I tell you what, the Feds need to tie A WHOLE BUNCH OF STRINGS to aid for these “Blue” states.
I can see the eventual raid and confiscation of IRAs and other private retirement savings to shore up these failed plans. It will not happen under Trump but will happen under the Democrats.
The Libs in Illinois made promises they could not keep.
IF anything, the ones who made the promises should be put in jail.
Hmmm, could demand a referendum on a constitutional amendment in Illinois. Make the money contingent on only allowing “injections” to “”at risk” funds that raise payouts higher than the CPI. Illinois couldn’t take a dime because they mandate a 3% increase every year.
Not like Trump is going to win Illinois anyway, screw ‘em.
I agree. IL has known for years that eventually the pension problem would boil over the pot. I can remember several years ago reading about this festering problem. There was speculation at the time as to whether the gvt would help them.
Now the problem is real and immediate. I say, not one penny. They’ve known about this problem for years and have done relatively little to cure the problem. My taxdollars should not be used to fix IL’s known problems.
Not a penny. I am a former Illinois resident, I was born there. Not a penny.
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I still live here. Not a penny
That has nothing to do with COVID-19.
Ill innois has been the sick man of the Midwest for 25 years.
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