Venezuelan migrants, Lenin Diaz, 11, left, Maria Inojosa, 43, and Diaz’s mother Euglimar Ramos, 30l, walk outside a shelter where they’re staying near the 2300 block of South Halsted Street on Tuesday Dec. 19, 2023 in Chicago. Funding challenges from the migrant crisis and immigrant health care to boosting early childhood education butt up against a projected shortfall of almost $900 million in the coming fiscal year as Gov. J.B. Pritzker prepares to give his sixth budget address on Wednesday.
“There’s no denying that there’s a major issue at the border being driven by a humanitarian crisis in Central and South America. We know that what we’re seeing in Chicago and some of the surrounding suburbs, sadly, is a result of politicians using human beings to distress a situation,” the Peoria legislator said. “But here we are. And we have to deal with the hand that we have been dealt.”
But, as with most of his initiatives, Pritzker figures to get little support from Republicans on migrant spending, who say the crisis was created by Democrats. While Pritzker often keeps details of his budget address under wraps until hours before his speech, he’s so far not only disclosed migrant response funding as a priority but also has hinted at more money for early childhood education, an ongoing priority of his administration.
The governor’s office has said it expects to end the budget year this coming June 30 with a surplus of $422 million. Late last year, state officials touted Illinois’ ninth credit rating upgrade within a two-year period, allowing the state to borrow money at a lower interest rate than before and potentially enjoy millions of dollars in savings.
Eric Kim, senior director at Fitch Ratings, said the outlook for the state’s credit rating continues to be stable. Fitch is closely watching the budget proposal not just for what Pritzker proposes for next year, but also as an update on the current outlook for the state’s finances, he said. Welch, who replaced longtime Speaker Michael Madigan in 2021, found himself struggling to preserve unity among the 77 House Democrats he oversees, as racial and ethnic caucuses gained power and a divide emerged between progressives and moderates.
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