Legislative Update -- February 16, 2023
February 16, 2023
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Yesterday, Governor Pritzker proposed his FY2024 state budget to the Illinois General Assembly. In his speech, the Governor proposed:
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Fully funding the FY2024 certified state pension contribution. If adopted by the legislature, pension contributions will be 19.5% of the state’s total FY2024 general funds
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Increasing elementary and high school education funding by $350 million and college Monetary Award Program Grant funding by $100 million
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Adding $750,000 to expand English language services and additional $2.8 million for the Minority Teacher Scholarship Program
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Providing $8.5 million to respond to unexpected public health threats
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Funding $20 million in capital grants to support improvements in commercial corridors and downtowns that have experienced disinvestment
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Additional spending to keep Illinois moving forward
As the Secretary of State was inaugurated less than five weeks ago, the Governor’s formal budget proposal did not contain specific line-item proposals for this office. Library grant funding and other Illinois Library Association requests found within this office’s appropriations will be proposed and ultimately debated by the legislature.
Budget hearings will likely begin next month with May 19 being the target legislative adjournment date.
Federal Update
The American Library Association (ALA) is asking library advocates to contact their members of Congress to oppose censorship and support the freedom to read.
While we don’t anticipate pro-censorship legislation advancing in Illinois, we've seen some very troubling censorship attempts in a number of states and localities. Some of the bills we’ve seen recently at the state and local level now are being proposed in Congress.
We know that the Constitution and our values are on our side – and polling shows that voters agree. But the small minority of censorship proponents are loud. We need to get loud, too.
In many cases, local leaders have successfully pushed back by using our greatest strength – the overwhelming support of our communities. Librarians, trustees, students, and parents have come together to reject censorship.
Tell Congress to Defend the Freedom to Read!
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