The outgoing Illinois Senate voted with the House in approving large pay increases for state department heads. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk, though likely not until J.B. Pritzker is sworn in.
The new federal spending bill, dubbed the “CRomnibus,” codifies that the ACA payments to insurers are budget-neutral, as the revenue to fund them will come from fees already assessed on health-insurance plans. This is not the blank check that insurers were hoping for.
Action, or lack thereof, on the 2011 income-tax hikes, a minimum-wage increase, SEIU training and more affect Illinoisans in the wake of a lame-duck death.
With a lame-duck session dead in the water, the 2011 income-tax hikes will sunset on schedule; a minimum-wage debate will wait until Rauner takes office; and taxpayers will not be on the hook for a state-funded health insurance exchange.