Prairie State Wire

Comptroller Susana Mendoza expressed her approval of the recently passed Fiscal Year 2025 state budget, highlighting its focus on enhancing educational investments and supporting healthcare networks. The budget allocates increased funding for K-12 and early childhood education, career and technical programs, college MAP grants, after-school programs, and services for individuals with developmental disabilities. It also emphasizes support for Illinois' nursing homes and pharmacies while funding two new Illinois State Police cadet classes.

Mendoza thanked the General Assembly for incorporating her proposal to allow earlier pension payments as part of the Budget Implementation Bill. "The five pension systems will welcome this option when the state’s finances allow," she stated. She emphasized that this flexibility in cash management is a result of efforts to improve the state's financial health, providing stability and investment flexibility for pension systems.

The budget projects payments totaling $198 million into the Rainy Day Fund by June 2025, raising its total to an estimated $2.3 billion. However, Mendoza noted that both bond rating agencies and she believe Illinois can enhance these contributions. "I look forward to resuming conversations with legislators and the administration on my bill to require more regular contributions to the Rainy Day and Pension Stabilization funds," she remarked. Mendoza stressed the importance of maintaining a robust Rainy Day Fund to navigate economic crises like major recessions or global pandemics while accelerating efforts to reduce pension debt.