Illinois in Line for $7.5 Billion in Federal Aid from COVID-19 Relief Package Biden is Expected to Sign This Week
The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by the U.S. House Wednesday will deliver a long-awaited boost to cash-strapped Illinois, with $7.5 billion in direct aid to the state and $6 billion for local governments — roughly a third of that going to Chicago.
The aid package, which President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law later this week, is welcome news for a state that has borrowed $3.2 billion from a special Federal Reserve program to help shore up its finances during the pandemic.
The money from the stimulus package comes with few restrictions on how it can be spent, although one constraint is particularly meaningful in Illinois — the state won’t be able to put any of the money toward its $141 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
“All of the money that’s coming in is very helpful for us both to pay back the debts we had to put on the books because of COVID-19 and to help us to stimulate the economy, to make sure that we’re bringing back the jobs,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday morning in an interview with WBEZ-FM 91.5.
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The aid package, which President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law later this week, is welcome news for a state that has borrowed $3.2 billion from a special Federal Reserve program to help shore up its finances during the pandemic.
The money from the stimulus package comes with few restrictions on how it can be spent, although one constraint is particularly meaningful in Illinois — the state won’t be able to put any of the money toward its $141 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
“All of the money that’s coming in is very helpful for us both to pay back the debts we had to put on the books because of COVID-19 and to help us to stimulate the economy, to make sure that we’re bringing back the jobs,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday morning in an interview with WBEZ-FM 91.5.
Click Here to read more.