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Harmon rejects stand-alone migrant appropriations bill

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Illinois

* Jeremy Gorner and Dan Petrella at the Tribune…

The state has already directed $640 million toward the migrant issue, a figure that includes $160 million Pritzker announced in November. That money was aimed at unclogging bottlenecks in Chicago’s shelter system that were hindering efforts to connect migrants with housing and jobs through the construction of a centralized intake center and more robust legal and employment assistance.

The $160 million came out of the Illinois Department of Human Services’ budget. Pritzker’s office has said it hopes the legislature will plug that hole in the agency’s budget with money from an estimated $1.4 billion revenue bump the state is expecting during the budget year. […]

But even among Democrats there is some reluctance to provide further funding for the migrant crisis without addressing long-standing issues involving poverty and the unhoused in Illinois, Senate President Don Harmon said.

“After saying for generations that we don’t have enough money to deal with real and similar issues affecting people here in the state, there’s no way we could advance an appropriation bill that dealt only with the newly arrived migrants,” said Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, echoing concerns that have been raised by some members of the legislature’s Black Caucus.

“If we’re going to provide funding to deal with that crisis, we’re going to have to provide funding for crises that have existed in our communities for generations,” Harmon said. “I don’t see an appetite to solve one problem while ignoring others that have been at the forefront of people’s agendas for decades.”

Except, as we’ve already discussed, the governor’s budget office is projecting a deficit next fiscal year.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 10:38 am

Comments

I read earlier today that immigration courts have a backlog of three million pending cases.

This problem isn’t going away anytime soon.

Comment by Jocko Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 10:53 am
Maybe it’s time to stop the unrestricted inflow of migrants at the border until our cities and states have the resources needed to take care of them properly. For example, enforce the federal laws already on the books, and finish the wall.

Comment by Occasional Quipper Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 11:09 am
Quipper, Speaker Johnson has said that they will not do anything to fix the border issues until Trump or another Republican is president.

Comment by very old soil Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 12:14 pm
Re: Harmon “I don’t see an appetite to solve one problem while ignoring others that have been at the forefront of people’s agendas for decades.”

So Harmon’s words could be interpreted as suggesting (a) we need to find money to solve more problems, or (b) we should not solve any problems. One represents morality; the other, a race to the bottom.

Comment by H-W Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 1:18 pm
Why doesnt Harmon talk to his U.S. Congressperson and one of the Senators and ask what they are doing to get this changed? He’s not powerless.

Also I thought Mexico was paying for the wall? The last “businessman” in the White House said so.

Comment by Jerry Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 1:21 pm
These numbers are simply not credible. $640 million buys a lot, way more than is needed to solve this crisis. What is all this money being spent on?

Comment by Odysseus Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 2:54 pm
==enforce the federal laws already on the books==

This is an influx of asylum seekers. The law is being enforced. You just don’t like the law.

==and finish the wall.==

Lol. You go with that.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 3:32 pm
This is disappointing from Harmon. Just say we don’t have the money. Don’t pit one helpless group against another. Also what is the proposal to help Illinoisans who need it? “Where is your program?” As Mayor Daley used to say.

Comment by J Tuesday, Jan 16, 24 @ 4:45 pm