Rauner signs “pass-through” legislation, Madigan spending attempt thwarted

The bipartisan pass-through spending law will provide services to the state’s most vulnerable.

Gov. Bruce Rauner signed federal “pass-through” spending legislation on Aug. 20 in the form of Senate Bill 2042. This spending will have no impact on the state budget.

The law will allow more than $5 billion in federal funding to flow to various social services across the state, including:

• $330 million for the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or DCEO
• $275 million for job training through the DCEO
• $320 million in community block grants through the DCEO
• More than $1.7 billion for family and community services through the Illinois Department of Human Services, including more than $320 million for the Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program

While the Illinois Senate passed SB 2042 by a 57-0 vote on Aug. 4, House Democrats attempted to add $1.5 billion in additional spending authority to the bill, including $585 million in spending from the state’s general revenue fund.

According to a memo sent by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, the spending included in the House Democrats’ amendment was “identical” to the spending included in the unconstitutional budget passed by the General Assembly in May. That budget was $4 billion out of balance, and Rauner vetoed it.

The amended legislation did not pass.

House members then added another amendment restoring the uncontroversial, bipartisan provisions the Senate had originally sent them, and voted to send the bill to the governor by a 98-0 margin.

The passage of this legislation ensures that Illinois can provide services to the state’s most vulnerable residents, and provides a glimpse into the lengths to which House Speaker Mike Madigan will go in order to avoid honest budget negotiations.