In this issue:
- State of the State
- National FFA Week
- Nominations being accepted for Senior Illinoisans’ Hall of Fame
- Illinois headlines
State of the State
Governor Pritzker appeared before a joint session of the House and Senate on Wednesday to deliver his 2025 State of State Address and outline his budget priorities for the coming fiscal year. I admit I was underwhelmed.
I wish he would have spent less time on national issues and more time on matters directly affecting the state of Illinois.
The state has a budget deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars, but the Governor actually proposed to add another $2 billion dollars in spending. He proposes to spend more than a hundred million dollars on health benefits for undocumented immigrants. He plans to pay for it all with hundreds of millions in new taxes, transfers and gimmicks.
We need to act to reduce property taxes and to reform the estate tax system to save family businesses and family farms. We need to improve our business climate and create jobs. The last few weeks have driven home the need for ethics reform. And we must improve education to create a brighter future for the next generation.
All of these are things we should have heard much more about.
But the Governor spent his time on national issues, and proposing more taxing and spending.
We only have 46 more session days scheduled this year. Let’s use them wisely. Let’s do things that will move us forward in the state of Illinois.
National FFA Week
It’s National FFA Week!
FFA is an incredible organization that celebrates the hard work, leadership and determination of our future leaders in agriculture. From farms to classrooms, FFA members are building a better future for farmers across the country.
Nominations being accepted for Senior Illinoisans’ Hall of Fame
The Illinois Department on Aging is now accepting nominations for the Senior Illinoisans’ Hall of Fame.
“The Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame honors the accomplishments of Illinois residents aged 65 and older,” according to the agency. “Each year, four older adults are inducted into the Hall of Fame for their work in the arts, sports, and entertainment; community service; education; or the labor force.”
An eligible nominee must be an Illinois resident (or previous resident for most of their life) who is 65 or older at the time of nomination. Posthumous nominations are accepted as well. Nominations for the 2025 Hall of Fame class must be submitted by June 2, 2025, and the nominator will be invited to participate in the award ceremony for their nominee. The nominations should include information on the nominee’s contributions to the community.
Our current bill backlog
When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state’s checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $2,123,583,359. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $1.5 billion in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state’s pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.
Illinois headlines
Moving company data shows Illinois lost the second most residents in 2024
Pension payments to cease for disgraced former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan
Illinois heart attack survivor advocates for CPR awareness
Iroquois County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan available for public review
Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission seeking members for advisory group