To Fix Roads, Bridges, and Public Buildings, Illinois Decides to 'Think Big'

First-term Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker succeeded in building support for his $45 billion, "think big" capital investment agenda in the Illinois State Legislature.

June 4, 2019, 7am PDT | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

It's a new day in Springfield, Illinois.

Paul Brady Photography

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Jamie Munks and Rick Pearson report:

The Illinois General Assembly adjourned its spring session Sunday and delivered first-term Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “think big” agenda as the Senate voted to raise motorists’ taxes and fees and embark upon a massive statewide gambling expansion that included a Chicago casino and legalized sports betting to pay for new roads, bridges and public buildings.

Munks and Pearson describe that $45 billion capital construction plan as the state’s "first major public works program in a decade."

"The public works plan, which won plaudits of traditional Republican-oriented business groups, would be paid for through a variety of sources, including a doubling of the current 19-cent-per-gallon state motor fuel tax, last raised in 1990, and it would be indexed to future increases in inflation," according to the article.

Full Story:

Illinois Senate approves legalizing sports betting, gambling expansion and funding for nearly $45 billion capital construction p

Published on Monday, June 3, 2019 in Chicago Tribune