“Permanent daylight savings time would mean Illinois businesses would have 365 days of sunsets at 5 p.m. or later. Especially post-COVID, our restaurants, retail, and other small businesses could all benefit from the increased foot traffic and commerce that would happen if people had daylight hours after the workday ends,” Rep. Bob Morgan said.

Jim Dey: “The 17 counties that don’t have township governments raise the question of why township supporters suggest the world will end if townships in their counties were merged and/or eliminated. What many of them really fear is that their jobs — and those of their otherwise-unemployable brothers-in-law — will end.”

“When I talk to pediatricians, they’re telling me they’re not seeing kids for physical health issues because they’re not getting sick, there’s no flu, there’s no cold because they’re wearing masks, but they’re seeing children every single day for mental health issues,” said Rep. Deb Conroy.

“It’s really our choice, whether this is COVID relief or whether this is a bailout of a system that was flawed long before anyone ever heard of the word COVID,” Demmer said Rep. Tom Demmer.

Illinois’ chronic under-spending, a “structural deficit” resulting from the state’s failure to raise enough money each year to cover the growing cost of state services, and the failure to refinance $133 billion in unfunded pension liability since 1995 have caused many problems, said Allison Flanagan, co-author of a new analysis released Thursday by the progressive Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. The CTBA’s full report is linked here.

“The Biden administration has delivered on their promises and provided states the stability we need to plan,” Pritzker said in a statement. “The state of Illinois has relied on their estimates to project the availability of vaccine and has built the infrastructure to administer far more doses than we’re currently receiving to prepare for this moment.”

Beth Whisman, executive director of the Children’s Discovery Museum in Normal, said there appears to be a double standard with COVID-19 restrictions. “How can you let Chuck E. Cheese and bowling alleys and gyms and rock climbing gyms and gaming parlors with lots of touch screens, how can they all be operating safely but we can’t?”

Michael Hendrix, director of state and local policy at Manhattan Institute: “States with the largest pension burdens, like Illinois and New Jersey, will also benefit from Biden’s bailout. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s latest budget conspicuously avoids lifting a finger to fix his state’s long-term insolvency.”

“We now know states didn’t suffer the heavy revenue blows they expected in 2020,” noted Wirepoints, a research group. “Trillions in federal relief funds led to a surge in personal incomes, buttressing tax collections. As a result, overall state tax revenues across the country in calendar year 2020 declined less than 1% compared to calendar year 2019. That’s a far cry from the combined 12% drop in revenues originally projected for FY 2021.”

Patrick Kenneally, McHenry County State’s Attorney: “Why can’t it be both, a criminal justice and public health issue? Why do our political pronouncements and judgments these days have to be so stark? What the hell ever happened to a middle ground?”

Illinois’ poor economy and high taxation are prime reasons for moving. In addition, Illinois suffered the worst year for jobs in state history during 2020, shedding 423,300 jobs (-6.9%) during the year. These job losses weren’t just confined to certain areas of the state: every metropolitan area saw jobs decline.

“The states are so overwhelmed, they haven’t figured out how to keep this from happening,” Terry Savage, a personal finance expert, said.

“Again, this is an issue of equity,” state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe said via email, after Illinois sent out more than 40,000 questionnaires to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimants. “During this crisis, it is inhumane to ask people to fill out complicated forms when they’re already overwhelmed – especially when they’re frightened that they may be on the hook for thousands of dollars.”