End Of Session Recap: The Budget! 📑

Dear Friend,

The spring session of the legislature adjourned on April 8th (well technically, it was 6am on April 9th!). At the end of our late-night marathon session, we’d passed an awful lot of meaningful legislation on the issues that matter to our community.

It’ll take me a few emails to unpack all of it. Today, I’d like to focus on the budget.

I came into office in 2015 at the same time as Bruce Rauner, so I got very used to saying the word “crisis” after the words “Illinois budget.” You’ll remember that Rauner vetoed budget after budget to the point of nearly driving our state to default. But after four years of careful management and fiscal responsibility by Gov. Pritzker and our Democratic majorities, we’re saying a word I never thought I’d hear follow the words “Illinois budget”:

“Surplus.”

Thanks to a combination of rising revenues, an economy recovering from COVID-19, and the effects of the federal stimulus, we had around $49 billion in general funds to spend this year — $4.8 billion more than anticipated.

What did we do with this extra money? Two key things: we invested in our long-term financial health and we provided everyone a little help to get by in these difficult times.

On the fiscal responsibility side:

• We put $1 billion into our state’s rainy day fund (which was basically the change under the couch cushions until this year)

• We paid $500 million extra toward our pension systems - the equivalent of making more than the minimum payment on your credit card bills, this lowers our long-term costs a lot

• We finally paid off the last of the bill backlog caused by the Rauner crisis

• And we finished paying back the money we borrowed from the federal government to get through the initial COVID-driven economic shocks

But we knew that families across our state were struggling too, especially with inflation driving up prices. So we took a few measures to help lower some of those costs:

• We eliminated the sales tax on groceries for the next six months

• We froze the gas tax for six months

• We’ll provide homeowners an additional property tax credit of up to $300 per household to help mitigate rising property taxes

• We’re providing direct cash assistance of $50 per person and $100 per dependent to over 97% of Illinoisans

• We created a sales tax holiday in August for back-to-school shopping

• And we’re increasing the value of the Illinois earned income tax credit, one of America’s most effective anti-poverty measures, as well as expanding who’s eligible for it

These changes won’t solve everyone’s financial difficulties, I know. But an extra few hundred dollars can fill up the tank (or the Ventra card) a couple of times, cover a grocery trip, and help get those school supplies.

And yes, they’re one-time supports. But it’s a one-time surplus. If we committed ourselves to ongoing expenses, we’d be setting ourselves up for a really tough financial time next year.

The budget also makes a lot of increased investments in the building blocks of our community. I’ll talk more about those in our next email, as we get into a contentious but incredibly important topic: public safety.

Until then, please contact our office with any questions about any of this, or anything else you’ve seen in the news about our work in Springfield. Always happy to discuss!

Sincerely,

Will

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SHARE YOUR LEGISLATIVE FEEDBACK

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MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE EVENT TOMORROW

Join the offices of State Senator Pacione-Zayas, State Rep. Will Guzzardi, State Rep. Jaime Andrade, Northwest Center, and the Spanish Coalition for Housing for their Mortgage Assistance Pre-Application Event on Saturday, April 16 from 9AM-1PM at NEIU El Centro at 3390 N. Avondale Ave.

If you are 30 days or more behind on your mortgage, you may be eligible for up to $30,000 worth of assistance through the State of Illinois' new ILHAF program. Learn more at:  illinoishousinghelp.org/ilhaf

Event Agenda:

9AM-10AM Informational Presentation
10AM-1PM One-on-One Meeting with Housing Counselors

Applications will only be open for a short period of time, so if you have questions or are ready to get connected with a housing counselor, please call our office at (773) 853-2570 or email us at will@repguzzardi.com. 

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COFFEE WITH WILL

Join Rep. Guzzardi for a free cup of coffee to discuss ongoing policy work and your neighborhood and community concerns. 

Saturday, April 30

10:00am - 1:00pm 

The Brewed Cafe, 2843 N Milwaukee Ave

RSVP here >>>

OR call Rep. Guzzardi: (773) 853-2570

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UNITY PARK EASTER EGG HUNT

Join the Unity Park Easter Egg Hunt!

Saturday, April 16th, 2022
10AM - 12 Noon
At Unity Park 2636 N Kimball*

🥚  4 Easter egg hunts: 10am, 10:30am, 11am, and 11:30am.  Open to kids of all ages; kids will trade eggs in for toys and candy!

🐰  Special appearance by the Easter bunny!

Click here to learn more >> 

*In case of rain, event will be held at Grace Church, 3325 W Wrightwood

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EASTER WITH CENTRO SAN BONIFACIO!

¡Toda la comunidad está invitada a celebrar la Pascua con Centro San Bonifacio!

Come celebrate Easter with Centro San Bonifacio!

Where: 2959 N Pulaski Road

When: Saturday April 16th, 12pm-2pm

What: Easter egg hun and activities for the whole family. Games, prizes, snacks, and photos with the easter bunny! 🐰🍭🥚