State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City says the new budget approved by lawmakers is far out of balance and relies on borrowing billions of dollars from the federal government…
{‘’Passing an unbalanced budget which depends on borrowing, and hoping for a bailout – and then giving legislators a raise while millions of Illinoisans are hurting – is wrong,’’ said Representative Bennett.}
The plan would borrow up to $5-billion dollars from the Federal Reserve that would be repaid with expected but uncertain federal aid from Washington. State officials also hope there will be a loosening of restrictions on how the state can spend $3.5 billion dollars in federal aid the state has already received.
Representative Bennett says House Republican lawmakers were completely cut out of the final budget product. He says Speaker Madigan and his majority decided to go it alone and ram through a partisan, unbalanced budget.
