If you needed another reason to hate politicians...
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https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2020/4/18/21226547/illinois-coronavirus-federal-aid-41-billion
Illinois Senate Democrats are asking the federal government for more than $41 billion in federal aid — about a quarter of it for a pension fund bailout — to keep the state financially afloat as the coronavirus pandemic continues to slash revenues across the board.
A letter from Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, addressed to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, went out Tuesday to Illinois’ entire congressional delegation — a day before Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the economic shutdown would result in an estimated $2.7 billion revenue shortfall in the state’s current budget.
“I realize I’ve asked for a lot, but this is an unprecedented situation, and we face the reality that there likely will be additional, unanticipated costs that could result in future requests for assistance,” Harmon wrote on behalf of the state senate Democratic caucus.
Harmon’s federal wish list for the second phase of federal coronavirus relief includes $15 billion in block grant funding to shore up the state’s spending plans for this fiscal year and the next two.
The Oak Park Democrat also asked for $10 billion for the state’s desperately underfunded pension plans.
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Teach a man to fish - let’s add a new chapter to the municipal bankruptcy code just for states.
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If you needed another reason to hate politicians...
Here's another.
A big construction project at Gov. JB Pritzker’s Wisconsin horse farm has some questioning whether the governor is honoring the spirit of his own stay-at-home order.
FOX 32 News watched Thursday as construction workers from Illinois crossed the border to work on the governor’s farm. Pritzker, though, says there is no double standard because construction workers are exempt.
FOX 32 wandered over the Wisconsin border into Kenosha County and found more than 20 construction workers -- nearly all from Illinois -- helping build a massive new home and several outbuildings on Pritzker's horse farm.
We did not get a warm welcome.
"Anything better to do?" one woman asked.
FOX 32’s Dane Placko: "Well, we're just doing a little story about the governor's property."
"Which is just really stupid," the woman responded.
Dane: "Why?"
"Cause he's doing a great job, don't you think?" the woman said.
Pritzker has been generally praised for his handling of the COVID-19 crisis, which includes an appeal to limit travel.
But when FOX 32 obtained the permits for the 7,000 square-foot, $2.5-million project, we found a lot of people would be traveling from Illinois to build it.
All but one of the listed contractors is based in Chicago or its suburbs, and we saw cars and construction vehicles with Illinois plates leaving the project and turning south into the Land of Lincoln.
