re: California just revealed a $54.3 billion deficit — signaling deep cuts ahead

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The terms of the deal

In a letter to Illinois members of Congress, Harmon requested:

$15 billion from an unrestricted block grant

A $10 billion pension bailout, structured either as a grant or a low-interest loan

$6 billion to bolster the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund

An increase in the portion of Medicaid paid for by the federal government to 65%, up from 50.96% in a typical year, worth an estimated $2.6 billion

$1 billion in health care grants to poor and minority communities

$9.6 billion in direct aid to municipalities

The first four requests worth $33.6 billion would go directly to the state budget and together exceed the more than $32.7 billion in revenues Illinois will raise from state sources for the upcoming budget year. The $10 billion request for pensions almost equals the $10.7 billion the state will spend in total on pensions next year, including debt service for pension bonds and pension costs for Chicago teachers. Of the aid requested specifically for the state budget, only the additional Medicaid funding can be linked to the public health threat of COVID-19

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