Funds provided through Senate Bill 2039, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law Dec. 7, will allow the Illinois Lottery to resume paying winning ticket holders.
Amid continued budget gridlock in Springfield, Senate Bill 2039 provides funds to pay Illinois Lottery winners, as well as to allow for road maintenance, 911-center operations and projects by Chicago’s tourism office, among other local government programs.
Good-faith negotiation and trust were foundational to all of the deals made, but some Statehouse Democrats pushed for extreme solutions while others were actively compromising.
Gov. Rauner and the Illinois House of Representatives support a bill to release lottery winnings, but Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are standing in the way. Now Illinois Lottery winners may not be paid until 2016.
Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...