Inside:
- State of the State address coming up on Wednesday
- Alpha-gal syndrome legislation filed
- Pension deficit stands at $140 billion
- Bills filed to make school choice a reality in Illinois
State of the State Address coming up on Wednesday
Governor Pritzker will deliver his annual State of the State address on Wednesday at the Capitol.
The state faces some serious challenges as we move into the 2026 legislative session. Prices are rising, energy costs are going up, the state’s unemployment rate remains higher than in most of the country. Meanwhile, the big-spending state budgets of the past few years are outpacing the ability of the state’s revenue streams to keep up – even with all the recent tax increases (which I opposed).
This year we are going to have to get serious about controlling spending and balancing our budget without raising taxes. The budget should support our important priorities, like education, farmers, veterans, public safety and transportation, while avoiding wasteful spending or pork-barrel projects in favored legislative districts.
Last year the Governor used his State of the State speech to compare his political opponents to Nazis. I hope we hear a more constructive set of proposals this year.
You can watch the speech live at noon on Wednesday at this link.
Alpha-gal syndrome legislation filed
Last year a bill I sponsored which would provide educational material about a rare but severe tick-borne condition called alpha-gal syndrome was passed and signed into law. This condition can cause severe, and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions in those who contract it.
Following up on that educational initiative, this year I am sponsoring a bill to help the Department of Public Health (IDPH) better track cases of alpha-gal within counties and statewide. House Bill 5127 creates the Alpha-Gal Syndrome Reporting Act. If a case of alpha-gal is diagnosed anywhere in the state, it would have to be reported to IDPH. IDPH would then be required to follow up on the reported case or cases and submit an annual report to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and also publish the results of the tracking of cases of alpha-gal syndrome.
Illinoisans can be made more aware of the presence of this condition so that they can take actions to avoid it. If the bill becomes law, it will mean that medical providers in an affected area would be aware that it alpha-gal is present so that they will know to test for it.
The bill is currently awaiting a committee hearing.
Pension deficit stands at $140 billion
Illinois maintains five state-managed pension systems which provide pension benefits to different groups of public sector employees. The different systems serve public school educators, state government workers, state university educators, judges and state legislators. All five are underfunded to a combined tune of $140 billion.
Professional actuaries are able to look at the contractual obligations of the state and the age profiles of future beneficiaries and develop close estimates of how much money will need to be paid out in future retirement benefits for members of these five pension systems. Using different actuarial assumptions can produce even higher deficit figures, some as high as $200 billion.
Last week, with this stubborn deficit continuing, Governor Pritzker proposed extending the state’s pension buyout program. Under the buyout program, those who have vested pension status are asked to consider accepting an immediate lump sum in lieu of future pension payments. The governor previously set a goal of reaching 100% funding of the state’s pension obligations by 2048. He says he still intends to meet that goal.
Bills filed to make school choice a reality in Illinois
School choice continues to be stifled in Illinois, but legislation filed this spring by House Republican Leader Tony McCombie would work with the federal government to make it a reality for Illinois students and families. The federal Educational Choice for Children Act empowers parents to choose the learning environments which best meet their child’s individual needs, but Illinois does not currently participate.
Scholarship recipients under the federal tax credit scholarship program will be able to use scholarships to support various aspects of their education at public, private, or religious elementary and secondary schools. Unlike many state tax credit scholarship programs, the uses of the scholarships provided under the federal tax credit scholarship program will not be limited to supporting enrollment or attendance at private schools.
The federal law creates a tax credit for donations to approved scholarship organizations, which include funds for tuition, books, supplies, other equipment, academic tutoring and special needs services for students which are incurred in connection with attendance as an elementary or secondary school student at a public, private or religious school. It also covers room and board, uniforms, transportation and supplementary items and services if those expenses are required or provided by a public, private or religious school in connection with enrollment or attendance. Computer technology and internet access for school use could also be covered.
But for Illinois students to utilize these programs, the state must opt-in and allow students to accept the donations. So far, Illinois has failed to do so.
Until a few years ago, Illinois operated a very popular and successful tax credit scholarship program, but it was allowed to expire. To correct this mistake, House Bill 4098 would require the State Board of Education to create a list of scholarship organizations that meet the requirements to facilitate opting Illinois into the school choice tax credit provisions of recently-enacted federal law.
Along similar lines, House Bil 4099 directs the State Board of Education to create a list of scholarship organizations, and grants the Board the authority to transmit the list to the federal government to opt Illinois organizations into the new federal tax credit.
Illinois has until January 1, 2027, to join at least 28 other states in opting-in.
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