Senate GOP want migrant funding transparency report from Pritzker

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Illinois Senate Republicans are demanding transparency from the Pritzker administration regarding how state funds have been used to address the migrant crisis in Chicago. 

Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) filed legislation to require the Illinois Department of Human Services and other state agencies to identify all state spending on services and resources for asylum seekers. 

GOP leaders told reporters in Springfield that they want to see specific appropriations that authorized the spending and the total number of families or people impacted by each service.

"You would think that a transparent accounting of how much Illinois citizens are paying for the governor's non-citizen welfare programs would be a simple responsible request," Curran said. "Yet, our very basic questions have continued to go unanswered by the governor's administration."

Senate Bill 3170 could require the administration to document contracts that were awarded to community organizations providing emergency shelter, food, health screenings, legal services, school enrollment and long-term housing. 

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza launched an online portal last month to track migrant spending. The comptroller's tracker provides information about vendors, the agencies that paid them, the state fund where money came from, contract information, and the total amount paid.

Although, the comptroller's office noted that state spending to help homeless or other populations that could benefit migrants may not be included in the portal. So, Mendoza explained her trackers should not be considered an exhaustive list of all the assistance Illinois is providing asylum seekers.

"As elected officials and citizens discuss the best policies to accommodate the influx of asylum seekers, having accurate numbers will benefit all involved," Mendoza said.

Curran said he appreciates Mendoza's commitment to share this information with the public. However, his caucus will continue to demand more transparency as Gov. JB Pritzker is proposing nearly $1 billion in tax increases during the next fiscal year.

"Is that $1 billion enough? Are we getting the real costs," asked Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley). "Due to the use of executive orders and how funds are moved around from agency to agency, it's almost impossible for us to get the true accounting."

Pritzker told reporters in Decatur Thursday that Illinois is providing humanitarian services for people in need of food, shelter and healthcare.

Meanwhile, the Pritzker administration said Republicans are blowing their racist dog whistle and conflating different immigrant populations to vilify human beings for their political gain.

"Whether it's the governor of Texas shipping people across the country creating a humanitarian crisis or Republican legislators complaining that people who call Illinois home are getting services they need, Republicans are once again providing their only focus is on dividing us," said spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh. "Just because they do not agree that we should live up to our duty to care for people, doesn't mean information about how we're doing that isn't already publicly available."

If Senate Bill 3170 is approved by lawmakers, the Department of Human Services could be required to submit the transparency report to the General Assembly by November 15, 2024 and annually thereafter. The plan could also amend state statute to require every state agencies to include detailed accounting of all proposed spending for non-citizen and asylum seeking populations starting with Fiscal Year 2026. 

"Ultimately, because of the way he's moving money around with zero transparency, we don't really know how much the governor is spending on the migrant crisis," said Sen. Sally Turner (R-Lincoln). "If Pritzker is going to ask for $1 billion in new taxes, the people of this state deserve to know how it will be spent."

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