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PRITZKER’S
$2 BILLION COVID-19 AID SLUSH FUND UNCOVERED
Illinois Policy Institute/
Patrick Andriesen
Six months after state lawmakers hastily
approved Illinois’ 2022 budget, a hidden discretionary fund has been
identified giving Gov. J.B. Pritzker total control over $2 billion in
federal COVID-19 aid.
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 More than six months after
Springfield lawmakers hurriedly passed Illinois’ $42 billion annual budget in
the dead of night, a Chicago Tribune analysis has uncovered a secret slush fund
giving Gov. J.B. Pritzker the authority to spend $2 billion in federal aid
without approval from the General Assembly.
State lawmakers who were given mere hours to review the 4,000-page Democratic
spending proposal before the vote June 1 said the majority failed to mention the
hidden provision. The budget debates were deliberately limited in the House and
Senate by again delivering the massive document at the last minute, a practice
perfected by former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
Members of the Republican minority have demanded greater transparency and input
in how the coronavirus relief dollars are spent. A lead GOP budget negotiator,
state Rep. Tom Demmer, called the move “a shell game” and is pushing for
legislative approval before Pritzker spends the money.
Pritzker said the $2 billion in discretionary spending is necessary to stabilize
state finances and “lost revenues.” The governor needs the “flexibility” to
adapt to changing federal rules on relief spending by circumventing lengthy
discussion in the General Assembly.
 But why the governor waited until six months after the vote to make his case
rather than during the public debate 0n how pandemic relief dollars should be
spent harkens back to the Madigan-era adage about governing in Illinois:
negotiate in secret, vote when it is too late for opposition.
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Pritzker’s plan for the
additional $2 billion was easy to overlook as a report from the
governor’s budget office breaking down the use of COVID-19 relief
spending neglected to mention the slush fund. It was also missing
from the administration’s August report to the federal government on
the state’s recovery plan.
While states are prohibited from using federal relief dollars to pay
down debts or make pension payments, the funds can be used to make
up for revenue lost because of the pandemic if spent on government
services allowed in the American Rescue Plan.
Budgeting the more than $2 billion in coronavirus aid to cover
allowable expenses frees up other money to pay down debts for which
the federal funds cannot be used. The state consequently expects to
use this money to pay down $1.9 billion in federal and state loans
rather than direct the money to support struggling Illinoisans.
Demmer said the additional funds will prevent Democrats from needing
to cut state spending or hold off on repaying debts. It will leave
less than $3.6 billion in relief dollars to budget out during the
next three years.
State lawmakers giving Pritzker autonomy over $2 billion should come
as little surprise. After all, they’ve allowed him unilateral
emergency powers for 665 consecutive days.
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