Dear neighbor,

Moving forward with our commitment to making Illinois the best place to live, work and raise a family, the General Assembly recently passed our sixth consecutive balanced budget. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget prioritizes key areas including education, public safety, economic development and more.

I supported this compassionate budget that invests in our youth, offers assistance to hardworking families, uplifts underserved communities and reflects the needs of the 36th District. Read my full statement here.

Now that my fellow lawmakers and I have returned home for the summer, I want to highlight some of the important funding in the budget this year, as well as the kick off of our 2024 Summer Book Club program.  

Please reach out to my Rock Island office at (309) 558-3612, Galesburg office at (309) 297-4483 or online at SenatorHalpin.com if you have any questions or need assistance.

Sincerely,

Mike Halpin
State Senator | 36th District

Budget Highlights

Building safer communities

The budget aims to support violence prevention, build safer communities by enhancing public safety and empower the community to combat crimes. These investments aim to enhance public safety and support law enforcement efforts in various ways:

  • $200 million to the Restore, Reinvest, Renew (R3) programto support data-driven approaches to high-risk youth intervention programs
  • $200 million to enhance after-school and summer youth programs
  • $45 million to build up the Reimagine Public Safety grant programto address firearm violence within communities
  • Funding  to hire and train 200 new state troopers and $30 million for camera grants
  • Resources for the Safe2Help tip linefor support to school districts to prevent crises among students and teachers
  • Continued funding for the Violent Crime Witness Protection Program.

These elements of the budget aim to enhance public safety on roads for quicker responses to emergencies and strengthen resources that keep communities safe.

Continuing fiscal responsibility

Building the success of the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which allowed Illinois to achieve nine credit upgrades in two years, the FY 25 budget keeps Illinois on a path of fiscal responsibility. This year’s budget continues to pay down our bills and invests more money into retirees through fully funding pensions, saving taxpayers millions. 

In addition to meeting our pension obligations, the budget invests in our Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as our Rainy Day Fund. Through its investments, the fund will grow to over $2.3 billion by the end of the fiscal year — keeping our state in good financial standing. Smart investments like these will continue our historic fiscal progress, which will pave the way for increased investments in crucial areas like education, infrastructure and health care.

Enhancing assistance for children and families

This year, the budget includes $50 million to help working families through a child tax credit. Income-eligible families who qualify for the earned income tax credit will receive extra funds they can put toward essentials. Additionally, nearly $28 million is allocated for the Parents Too Soon and Healthy Families program for home visiting programs to uplift new and struggling families with young children. The plan also includes $600 million for the Summer EBT program, which will allow low-income families with school-aged children to buy groceries during the summer months.

To ensure our children are receiving the best education possible, the budget will put a total of $400 million toward a multi-year program to provide investments in preparing children to be lifelong learners. The plan puts a total of $14 million toward the Department of Early Childhood — a new agency that will focus on administering early childhood education programs. Building off of last year’s plan to expand access to preschools in the state, $75 million will go adding 5,000 slots in preschool deserts. It also invests $200 million to begin funding the Childcare Workforce Compensation Contracts — a plan that will promote quality in the childcare system — and over $36 million in child care assistance, making it possible for more families to receive financial help.

To address staffing shortages and safety concerns at DCFS and their partner agencies, the budget allows rate reform to continue for private sectors, as well as includes funding to hire an additional 392 staff to support DCFS caseload. The plan also allocates $100 million for increased bed capacity at DCFS and funding to hire an additional 392 staff.

Strengthening support for veterans and seniors

This budget significantly boosts support for veterans and seniors in Illinois. The budget also boosts funding for the Homeless Veterans’ Program by over $200,000, enhancing housing and supportive services for homeless veterans and helping them regain stability. I also secured $6 million in this years budget to fund the Illinois Veteran Grant Program. Read more about that here.

Seniors will also see notable benefits under the new budget. A $1 rate increase for the Community Care Program will help serve approximately 69,000 seniors. The Home-Delivered Meals Program is seeing a $3 million increase, meeting growing demand and enabling the Aging Network to provide over 11 million meals annually to homebound older adults statewide. This year’s budget also maintains crucial funding to support services in rural areas and steps up outreach to minority communities, ensuring comprehensive care and support across diverse demographics.

 

Summer Book Club

Our 2024 Summer Book Club program is now live! The Summer Book Club requires students to read eight books of their choice during the summer break, record the names of the books on a form, and return the form to my office by Aug. 16. Every child who completes the Summer Book Club will receive a gift card and a certificate. Click here to download the form!