* Jerry Nowicki‘s recap of the Senate Appropriations hearing this morning…

* Sen. Sims said there will likely be a third amendment to the budget introduced on the floor. The budget’s bill number is SB251….

Sen. Elgie Sims: Based on technical changes that have been identified we can expect another amendment [to the budget]. Again, I expect that amendment to be technical in nature. But I would expect a minimum of three.

Sen. Rose: So it should be called to the floor directly?

Sims: Correct.

* The BIMP will be moved to HB4959, SA2, though language has not yet been introduced as I write this.

…Adding… Subscribers were told more about yesterday’s House member deficit early today…

Part of the reason, or most of the reason, the House left is because they were short on the members needed (three-fifths) for a bond authorization bill due to attendance. Senate might have to find a vehicle for this language - if they havent yet https://t.co/RR6MsmZNiS

— Jerry Nowicki (@NowickiPress) May 26, 2024

What Harmon said yesterday in response to my question before the House adjourned…

Reporter: The House is down like 10 people. I guess [their attendance is] going back up tomorrow. Do you see any need to run the bonding authority bill in the Senate before it goes to the House?

Harmon: We’re going to coordinate with the House, we’ll make sure that both chambers are in full agreement on which Bill starts where. We’ve worked very well in collaboration with the House through this whole process. We’re going to continue that to the bitter end.

…Adding… Al Llorens, president of the Illinois Education Association…

“At a time when Illinois is experiencing a statewide teacher shortage, it is incomprehensible that funding for vital educator support programs are absent from the current budget proposal. Sadly, two such programs — the teacher pipeline program Educators Rising and the Illinois Virtual Instructional Coach and Mentoring Program — have been left out of this version of the budget.

Educators Rising focuses on introducing high school students to the education profession and builds the mindset and skills essential for aspiring educators to enter a quality educator preparation program. The Virtual Instructional Coach and Building Mentor Program is an essential wraparound professional support for clinicians and teachers in the first three years of their careers wherein new educators are paired with a trained virtual coach to receive support and feedback. It also provides high quality professional development and allows new teachers to access a vast content and resource library. This ensures a higher rate of educator retention among early career educators for our state. In fact, more than 90 percent of educators in the program have been retained because of the critical support the program provides.

A budget that does not include funding for Educators Rising and the Virtual Instructional Coach and Building Mentor Program is detrimental to public education, to our students, and to the future of the state of Illinois.”

…Adding… Click here to follow developments as they happen…