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Stadelman calls early childhood proposal a wise investment of state dollars
Stadelman’s remarks followed a visit by Gov. JB Pritzker to Nashold Early Childhood Center to promote “Smart Start,” which would pump $250 million into pre-K programs during the first year of a multi-year plan.
- $75 million additional for the Early Childhood Block Grant to put Illinois on a path to creating more than 20,000 new Pre-K spots for every child who wants one;
- $130 million for nation-leading Childcare Workforce Compensation Contracts that will stabilize providers and give childcare workers a raise;
- $100 million in capital dollars for early childhood providers to expand existing facilities and build new facilities;
- $70 million for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP);
- $1.6 million to launch the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a statewide literacy initiative to send free books to children from birth-through age five.
Illinois earns 7th credit upgrade in 2 years
Stadelman: Hard work results in "more welcome economic news"
S&P Global Ratings, one of the "big three" credit rating agencies, this week announced its third upgrade to Illinois' creditworthiness in the last two years and the seventh overall in that same period. The move represents a reversal from years of downgrades, including seven during the state's two-year budget impasse under former Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Before the recent string of upgrades, all three major rating agencies – including Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings – had rated Illinois’ bonds at one notch above “junk” status, the point at which large institutional investors will no longer purchase them.
In announcing the upgrade, S&P credited the state’s “deep and diverse economic base” as well as its access to readily available cash including a rainy day fund and untapped interfund borrowing authority.
State Senator Steve Stadelman called the improved credit rating "more welcome economic news for Illinois" and reflective of "hard work by lawmakers to turn around decades of poor financial choices on both sides of the political aisle."
State pays off remaining Unemployment Insurance debt
Another encouraging financial development comes with the recent annoucement that Illinois has retired $1.36 billion in lingering debt on the the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, according to State Senator Steve Stadelman.
Stadelman said this week that retiring the debt will save businesss and taxpayers across the state hundreds of millions of dollars in interest costs over the next decade. The achievement is the result, he said, of a bipartisan agrement between lawmakers and representatives from business and organized labor.
The agreement called for full repayment of the federal loan that was necessary to supplement the state's Trust Fund during the unprecedented demand of unemployment benefits during the pandemic and also allocates $450 million in state money to be placed into the Trust Fund as an interest-free loan. Repayment of the loan over the next day years will be deposited directly into the state's Rainy Day Fund, Stadelman noted.
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