3/7/2021 Federal COVID relief bill benefits Chicago, Illinois, transit, parents, unemployed

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GREG HINZ ON POLITICS

March 07, 2021 07:28 PM 9 MINUTES AGO

Who gets what from $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill

Big winners here include transit, low-income people, parents and the unemployed.
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3/7/2021 Federal COVID relief bill benefits Chicago, Illinois, transit, parents, unemployed

Bloomberg

The state of Illinois will get $7.5 billion to shore up its budget and pay off old bills. City Hall is in for
roughly $1.8 billion, and the Regional Transportation Authority, a cool $1.5 billion.

Roughly 10.6 million Illinoisans—children and adults—will get stimulus checks of up to $1,400 each. Extra
unemployment aid affecting half a million people is on the way, the average Obamacare premium for a
couple will drop $1,300 a year and the state will receive an extra $275 million to speed COVID-19 vaccine
inoculations.

MORE

$1.9 trillion COVID relief bill headed for nal vote this week

Illinois' vaccine leader? It's not Chicago.

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3/7/2021 Federal COVID relief bill benefits Chicago, Illinois, transit, parents, unemployed

GOP members of Congress unanimously say it’s all too much and has little to do with ghting the
pandemic. But local Democrats are unapologetically defending what’s in the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill
that passed over the weekend and is awaiting a nal vote in the House, and there’s no sign any of the
designated recipients are about to reject the money.

“Huge win for Illinois families and businesses, and I’m proud to have helped spearhead aid for state and
local governments, which will help stave off tax hikes and service cuts,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-
Schaumburg, in an email. “Combined with the aid for testing and vaccinations, the economic relief will
help America recover both from the present health care crisis and the economic one.” 

“Low-income people and the unemployed are more likely to spend  (not save) the money and stimulate
the economy,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, in a brie ng for reporters today,  explaining why the
package overall tilts in favor of those with modest nancial resources. “We are nally close to putting
this pandemic behind us.” 

Here’s the breakdown on who gets what, coming from Durbin and fellow Democrat U.S. Sen. Tammy
Duckworth, and con rmed by other congressional and local sources:

Illinois: The single biggest chunk will go to the state, which is expected rst to pay off more than $2
billion in outstanding loans from the Federal Reserve and reduce its backlog of local bills, but likely will
have money left over for other needs, perhaps public grade and high schools. The latter is a priority for
new Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch. 

The Senate did put some strings on some of that money. But unlike earlier COVID bills that allotted aid
for speci c purposes, rather than general use such as replacing state tax revenues lost in the pandemic,
the new money is “considerably more exible” in how it can be used, Durbin said. 

Chicago: Mayor Lori Lightfoot, too, is likely to use a large chunk of the money for debts. O cials had
planned to balance much of her 2021 budget by re nancing $500 million in debt and deferring
repayment costs years into the future, a tactic known as scoop and toss.  But they also said they’d hold
off until seeing what, if anything, President Joe Biden was able to get out of Congress. 

Some progressive members of the City Council already have been urging that any new money be spent,
not saved or used as a substitute for borrowing. That could set off quite a ght in coming months. 

Public transit: The RTA money will be split among the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace. All had
assumed they’d get additional aid and therefore wouldn’t have to reduce service this year, and that now
appears to be the case.

Individuals: Signi cant as the aid to state and local governments is—$350 billion nationwide, plus $5
billion for K-12 schools in the state, and $1.3 billion for Illinois institute of higher education—the amount
of money targeted for people is larger.

On top of $300 a week in extra unemployment help, $1,400 stimulus checks and higher subsidies for
Obamacare, just over $10,000 of the unemployment aid in most cases will be tax exempt, a change from

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recent policy. And there are big new child-care tax credits that Democrats say will slash the child poverty
rate, perhaps by half.

Other items include “hundreds of millions” just in Chicago and Cook County for both rental and mortgage
assistance, and increased help for the federal agency that guarantees pensions, the latter helping
100,000 Illinoisans preserve their pensions, according to Durbin and Duckworth. 

Restaurants and venues: And while the bill overall is modest in what it gives businesses, as opposed to
individuals, restaurants nationally won a new $28.6 billion allotment, and theaters and performance
venues $1.25 billion, on top of the $15 billion they got in the last bill.

No Illinois House Republican voted for the bill the rst time around, and though the Senate tinkered a bit,
none are expected vote for this latest bill when it comes up for nal action later this week. Durbin said he
expects Biden to sign the legislation almost immediately after he gets it.

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