By Josh Weiner, Summer Internship Communications Team
Many members of the Illinois General Assembly know that the pandemic and inflation have been burdening Illinois families and passed a historic relief package this past session, which also promises to increase the fiscal stability of Illinois.
To help combat inflation, the Illinois budget includes over $1.8 billion dollars in aid to families. Some of the highlights of the budget relief bill include:
- Suspending the state’s grocery tax for a year, which will save consumers an estimated $400M
- Freezing the gas tax for six months, saving consumers $70M
- Doubling the property tax rebate, to save up to $300 per household
- Giving eligible tax filers additional one-time direct checks for $50 per adult filer and $100 for each of their children
The budget also calls for additional funding to public safety. Approximately $1 billion dollars will go towards violence prevention, and $124 million dollars will go towards supporting local police and reducing violent crime which also includes funding for mental health screening for local police departments.
Other key aspects of the budget include:
- $180M to be reinvested in the Healthcare Workforce Initiative to help grow the Illinois healthcare workforce
- $122M increase in Monetary Award Program funding to help strengthen financial aid for low-income students who want to attend college
- Special Education funding to receive a $96M funding increase
- $54.4M towards early childhood programs
- Pathways To Success Program – which focuses on creating plans for children with complex problems – fully funded at $150M
This is only a small sample of the total budget that was recently passed by both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker. The budget also funds key initiatives around equity, business attraction and community development, and so much more. If you have any questions about the budget that recently passed, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office.