Quincy Reporter

In an Oct. 3 Facebook post, Sen. Jil Tracy shared the most recent weekly update on what the Senate has been paying attention to.

In the weekly review, Tracy discussed the Governor's plans for the unemployment trust fund debt, saying that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s unemployment payment leaves businesses and employees on the hook. 

Pritzker recently held a press conference to tout a fund sweep of $450 million in Illinois business tax dollars from the state Unemployment Insurance (UI) trust fund. The Illinois UI trust fund was severely depleted during the pandemic because of large numbers of unemployment claims, including hundreds of millions in unemployment fraud that the Pritzker Administration failed to effectively combat. After the recent payment, the state’s UI trust fund still faces a debt of $1.3 billion, leaving Illinois as one of only five states still owing money on its UI trust fund loan.

Tracy shared that the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is hiring: "The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is hiring Snow Removal Operators and Winter Salaried Highway Maintainers. The jobs, which are often referred to as snowbirds, involve operating IDOT snowplows to help clear the roads during winter weather. The department is responsible for maintaining more than 45,000 lane miles. Applications may be submitted online at https://illinois.jobs2web.com/https://illinois.jobs2web.com/."

Tracy also shared that the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is looking for nominations to honor school board members. 

"The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is asking members of the public to nominate outstanding school board members for the Thomas Lay Burroughs Award," Tracy said. "The annual award is presented every year to an outstanding member of an Illinois school board. According to ISBE, the Thomas Lay Burroughs Award honors members for outstanding accomplishment in one of three areas, including: Personal leadership in improving student learning, closing achievement gaps, and supporting educational excellence; and/or Personal leadership in expanding educational opportunities for underserved students; and/or Personal leadership in resolving a crisis or major difficulty with the result of more equitable outcomes for students. Nominations of school board members who have provided outstanding leadership may be submitted online at https://www.isbe.net/Pages/thomas-lay-burroughs-award.aspx."