State Rep. Robyn Gabel Provides Special Session and Budget Update

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created extreme hardship for our families and our local communities, forcing small businesses to close and putting Illinoisans out of work. This legislative session was like unlike anything we have faced before, but it was very clear that we had to take action to support those battling this pandemic and provide necessary resources to keep our state’s critical services operating.

“We passed a responsible state budget that prioritizes the health and economic needs of all Illinoisans. This budget includes increased funding for Medicaid and unemployment, new funding for public health providers, full funding for our local schools, housing assistance and additional protections for programs that our families depend on.

“During this legislative session, we also worked to provide increased protections for essential workers and first responders in our community who risk their health and safety to keep our essential businesses and public services running. To make sure everyone has the ability to participate in our election process in a safe and secure way, we worked to expand vote-by-mail options so that no one is kept away from participating in the upcoming election.

“Our efforts were focused on supporting those who have been most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, making sure our essential services can continue operating uninterrupted and providing assistance for our state’s economic recovery. We will continue to face many uncertainties in the weeks and months ahead, and I’m committed to providing the necessary resources and support that our community depends on.”

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• SMALL BUSINESS: We allocated $600 million in grants for small businesses, which are the economic backbones of our communities. We created the Coronavirus Business Interruption Grant Program or BIG Program, which will be administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). If you have a business with 50 or fewer employees and less than $3 million in revenue, you can apply to receive a loan of up to $50,000.
• HEALTHCARE: We passed protections for first responders, healthcare workers and other essential employees who have been exposed to the coronavirus through their job. We set aside additional support for hospitals battling COVID-19 in rural and low-income communities. We expanded Medicaid for permanent residents over age 65 and postpartum women for 12 months instead of 6 weeks to address maternal mortality, allocated $58 million in new funding for in-home healthcare for older adults, fully funded domestic violence shelters, and increased funds for mental health resources. We devoted $900 million for the Illinois Department of Public Health to respond to COVID-19 with testing and contact tracing programs.
• HOUSING: The budget sets aside $500 million for assistance with rent, mortgage relief, utility assistance, and homelessness prevention. And, we unanimously passed a property tax relief package that suspends some late payments and allows some tax exemptions for seniors, veterans, and people living with disabilities to automatically renew.
• EDUCATION: We took steps to make it easier for schools to provide virtual learning and for students to meet their graduation requirements, so that education can continue safely. The budget provides level funding for schools, more than half a billion dollars for early childhood education, and level funding for MAP grants for college students.
• VOTING RIGHTS: We passed an initiative to make voting more accessible by proclaiming Election Day a state holiday, sending out applications for vote-by-mail ballots to anyone who has voted in the past two years or registered since the March primary election, offering curbside voting, and allowing clerks to expand early voting opportunities including special senior citizen voting hours. Traditional voting at polling places will still occur. I hope that you will join me in loudly exercising our precious right to vote on (or before) this November 3rd. 
• COCKTAILS: Additionally, we passed a measure allowing the purchase of to-go cocktails from bars, taverns, and restaurants. It is effective upon the signature of the Governor, and is aimed to provide some hope to the hospitality industry, while adding another option to your festive occasions.
• CASINO: We took steps forward on a long-anticipated Chicago casino that will serve as an added revenue source for Chicago pension payments as well as infrastructure programs.