There were no high-profile debates the last couple of weeks during the Illinois veto session. Democrats re-elected Chris Welch to be the Speaker of the House.
Other moves included extending TIF districts in parts of the state, legislation that makes it easier to change names on birth certificates, and one that gives some local governments more leeway to impose their own grocery taxes without a vote from the public, now that the state is doing away with the tax.
This certainly wasn’t the busiest veto session for Illinois state lawmakers in Springfield. They spent a few days in the Capitol over the last two weeks and took some action. They turned a lot of their attention to the upcoming legislative session.
Host Jim Niedelman gets into that with Illinois State Senator Mike Halpin and House Minority Leader Tony McCombie.
"The purpose of eliminating the grocery tax on the state level was to make sure that the state wasn’t benefitting from that tax, we weren’t getting any money from it, and in a time of high inflation we wanted to make those prices at least a little bit easier for constituents," Halpin said.
"The language was amended so they could choose to use that tax for property tax relief, which I think we had already heard several municipalities had kind of hoped to do it that way, but also if they also wanted to use it for public infrastructures they could do that as well," McCombie said.
To hear more from the panel, click on the video.
And now we want to hear from you, too, with our question of the week: What do you think Illinois should do about its projected budget deficit of more than $3 billion? Please share your thoughts at 4therecord@whbf.com.
Local 4 News, your local election headquarters, is proud to present 4 The Record, a weekly news and public affairs program focused on the issues important to you. It’s a program unlike any other here in the Quad Cities. Tune in each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as Jim Niedelman brings you up to speed on what’s happening in the political arena, from Springfield, Des Moines, Washington, D.C. and right here at home.
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November 24, 2024 at 11:07AM
Illinois Delivered 