End of Session Update/Budget Summary

Rep. Greg Harris • 13th District Springfield Update • April 18, 2022 End of Session Update/Budget Summary The Spring 2022 session of the 102nd General Assembly was a very productive one, including many milestone accomplishments to balance our State’s budget, increase our fiscal stability, expand healthcare access and affordability, invest in major increases in equity, […]

Governor Pritzker’s Proposed FY23 Budget

Rep. Greg Harris • 13th District Springfield Update • February 2, 2022 Governor Pritzker’s Proposed FY23 Budget The Governor’s proposed fiscal year 2023 general funds budget of $45.4 billion continues on the path of responsible management. It provides the services people need, cares for the most vulnerable Illinoisans and reinvigorates Illinois’ economy to create jobs […]

End of Session 99th General Assembly

  In the last days of the 99th General Assembly the House passed several key pieces of legislation, including funding to our colleges, universities and MAP Grants, as well as to senior programs, children and youth programs, funding for mental health, substance abuse, violence prevention, housing and services for homeless youth, domestic violence shelters, the […]

Uptown Restaurant with Mission to Help Homeless Closes

Hunter Clauss WTTW Chicago Tonight A North Side restaurant employing people grappling with homelessness closed its doors for good on Sunday. Inspiration Kitchens had been a fixture of the Uptown neighborhood for 11 years. But owners of the restaurant say a loss of federal funding and the state’s historic budget impasse made it difficult to […]

SHUTDOWN LOOMS DUE TO STATE BUDGET STALEMATE

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) — Illinois lawmakers have hours remaining to pass a state budget. If a deal isn’t reached by Wednesday, funding for certain state agencies will be lost. Governor Rauner is telling workers they should still report to work and they will get paid, even if a deal isn’t reached. If July 1st arrives […]

Uptown Hospitals Threatened By State Budget Stalemate

UPTOWN — Folks who rely on Uptown’s two major hospitals, Weiss Hospital and Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, have reason to be worried right now, according to hospital officials. If Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget cuts are approved next week, hospitals and healthcare systems across the state could see a $700 million cut, according to State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), who held a news […]

Rauner team warns of more budget cuts

The political merry-go-round on Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s latest $26 million in budget cuts kept spinning at the Capitol on Tuesday, as Democrats once again sought to highlight the spending reductions and the administration warned more could be on the way. House lawmakers spent hours Tuesday quizzing Rauner’s budget chief, seeking detailed information about who […]

HIV/AIDS advocates ready for budget fight

  by Matt Simonette 2015-04-12​ Illinois health advocates have faced budget crises before, but rarely have circumstances seemed as dire as they do now, with service providers and advocates rallying against proposed cuts to the state’s Health and Human Services budget.“It seems like we’ve been doing this every year,” said Daniel Frey, director of government […]

FY 2015 Budget Fix

Yesterday, the House passed and sent to the Senate a set of Supplemental Appropriation bills which provide about $1.6 billion to fix problems in the FY15 state budget which jeopardized services such as childcare, elementary and secondary ed, mental health, court reporters and Department of Corrections funding.   80%  ($1.35 billion) of this was achieved with […]

Pension Reform and More Budget

Pension Reform As we try to fix the financial crisis for the State of Illinois, one of the largest single items is reform of the pension systems. Due to decades of chronic underfunding of the government share, declining asset values due to the economic downturn and changes in actuarial assumptions, etc., significant changes must be […]