Prairie State Wire

While lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to work with them on the allocation of the federal funds the state is expecting to receive through the American Rescue Plan, Comptroller Susana Mendoza said these funds will be used to pay debts.

“I think that, the first thing to keep in mind is that the majority of that money is spoken for, I do believe that,” Mendoza said, the Capitol News Illinois reported. “As soon as we get that, the first thing that we should spend that stimulus money on is to pay back the money that we borrowed from the Federal Reserve for the state's COVID and other medical expenses.”

During a virtual hearing of the House Revenue and Finance Committee, the chairman of the committee, Rep. Michael Zalewski (D-Riverside) said he thinks “the legislature would like a say in appropriating money, given our role.”

“So my hope is that you could convey that to the governor’s office and we can develop a framework to work together on that,” Zalewski told the director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, Alexis Sturm.

Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock), ranking Republican on the committee, also said that “it’s a conversation that belongs in the legislature as well.”

According to WJOL, “The governor’s office last week said they want to see the money used in the areas where it will have ‘the most economic impact.’”