The negative financial effect of the pandemic should soon be behind Illinois.
Gov. JB Pritzker Tuesday afternoon announced a deal to pay off the remaining $1.36 billion of the unemployment insurance trust fund debt. One of the leaders to put it together, State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris), says no matter what, some people won’t like it.
“Unions stepped up to figure out how to get us to a plus-$1.7 billion net surplus, which should take us through – should we have any downturn in the economy – which will provide stability for businesses, and also provide for the worker the ability to know that their benefits would not be cut,” Rezin said at a crowded news conference in the governor’s ceremonial office at the Capitol.
Pritzker emphasized the bipartisanship just weeks after a fractious election campaign. Unions, business groups, Democrats, Republicans – a real kum ba yah moment in a place where those can be in short supply.