Under federal law, the new 988 hotline takes effect in July. The state Senate this month passed a bill creating a statewide 988 trust fund, which is now in the state house. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget proposal puts $70 million toward crisis response services for people who call 988, and $5 million specifically into that trust fund.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.