Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) | Courtesy photo
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) | Courtesy photo
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) took to the House floor recently to argue against the state making a partial payment of the unemployment insurance trust fund debt. He said the Democratic plan doesn't go far enough.
"Our plan for a year has been to plug the $4.5 billion hole that is in unemployment insurance. For a year we've worried about this. We've being saying this for a year. 'Oh and by the way, we don't fix all the problem, we fix a little bit more than half of the problem with $2.7 billion, because we're going to take the other billion and use it for projects.' Oh, only for your side of the aisle, not for our side of the aisle. That's the plan."
Batinick said this doesn't solve the problem.
"There's a $1.8 billion shortfall. There is no magic money fairy here in Springfield," Batinick said. "I think we figured that out. It has to be plugged by either tax increases on jobs, or benefit cuts of people who get unemployment insurance. Aren't those the people we're supposed to be here fighting for? One of those two things needs to happen. It's not in this bill, it's the effect of this bill. [...] I do not like being lectured on fiscal responsibility between these two particular plans. Vote no."
Senate Bill 2803 passed both the Senate (33-15) and the House (68-43) along partisan lines and was signed by the governor on March 25. The bill authorizes putting government COVID funding toward paying off part of the unemployment insurance trust fund debt.
State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) and Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) are chief sponsors of the legislation.
"The plan passed tonight was rushed and only fixes a little over half the problem and spends the rest on Democrat pork projects," said Batinick.
The Center Square reported that the Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Kristin Richards told the Illinois Senate approximately 18% of the unemployment insurance payments were paid 'improperly.' The exact dollar amount of fraud has not yet been stated by Richards but mentioned that Michigan, Arizona, and Pennsylvania have an estimated $4-8 billion of fraudulent payments.
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