Illinois Valley Times

Veteran Illinois state Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) concedes that under Democrats, little ever seems to change in Springfield.

“This is just another example of Democrats spending more money than we have by expanding programs that we don’t have to have,” Rezin told the Illinois Valley Times of a provision in the $42 billion budget plan that would make Illinois the only state to provide Medicaid benefits to undocumented immigrants.

“It’s difficult enough to pay our bills, especially after the pandemic and knowing we’re going to be receiving less revenue for awhile to come,” she added.

Under the guidelines of the bill that Democrats banded to pass during a recent four-day special session, undocumented immigrants over the age of 65 with incomes of $12,670 or less would be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits as of July 1, 2021.

“These are trying time and it’s important that we not be extending programs and setting out to make different decisions,” Rezin added. “There’s no question Democrats have passed their latest agenda under the umbrella of the COVID-19 pandemic. One example of that is the vote-by-mail issue, which we as Republicans feel there are not enough safeguards attached to for going forward.”

Rezin laments much of what she saw last month in Springfield saw Democrats taking that same approach on various fronts.

“My fear is in a few months the wheels on all this could start to fall off,” she added. “Democrats seem convinced the federal government will be coming without a bailout for the state, but no one knows how much revenue we’re talking about and, at the end-of the day, the money will be for only one year. The truth is we’re anticipating less revenue for the next several years.”