By: Mark Glennon*

Governor JB Pritzker has told Illinoisans that federal bailout money has nothing to do with Illinois’ recent fiscal progress. That progress, he has said, included a supposed budget surplus, a reduction in the state’s unpaid bill backlog and credit upgrades. Read how emphatic he was about that last month in his Budget Address:

I’m pleased to announce Illinois will end this fiscal year with a $1.7 billion surplus, the first of its kind in more than 25 years. Now, I know that the same tired old characters who are always so desperate to bad-mouth Illinois will falsely attribute our fiscal success to the federal American Rescue Plan Act. As usual, they’re wrong. Let me set the record straight for you — our state budget surpluses would exist even without the money we received from the federal government.

But on Monday it was time to defend that very American Rescue Plan in Congress against growing criticism that it was unaffordable, fueled inflation and vastly exceeded losses states sustained because of the pandemic.

Pritzker was among the witnesses from various states and localities called on by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to praise the rescue plan.

That required a different tune, so Pritzker and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi did a singalong. Krishnamoorthi, in his questions for Pritzker, ticked through the very points points Pritzker claims prove his budget prowess — the supposed surplus, reduction in unpaid bills and credit upgrades — and Pritzker affirmed each. You can see the text of some of the questions and answers below and the video is here.

If it sounds familiar, it’s because those are the same things Pritzker bragged about in his Budget Address and recent campaign ads.

But the purpose of the hearing was “Examining the Impact of the American Rescue Plan’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.” Which is it? Did the rescue plan help on fiscal matters or not? Yes, it clearly did, as we detailed here.

What happened, it appears, is Pritzker and Krishnamoorthi didn’t get their story together before the hearing. In his opening statement at the hearing, Pritzker seemed careful not to talk about things like a budget surplus, unpaid bills or credit upgrades. He focused instead on one-time spending items that were enabled by federal money (though rescue money far exceeded those items). Notice that at one point Pritzker interjected respecting the unpaid bill reduction, saying, “Actually even before the ARPA dollars or support from the federal government.”

But Krishnamoorthi didn’t get the hint, apparently being unaware of what Pritzker said in his Budget Address, and continued with his list. So Pritzker played along, probably figuring the folks back home don’t listen to what happens in Congress.

Krishnamoorthi also asked Pritzker to affirm that Illinois now has budget “surpluses projected for years to come.”

“Yes sir, answered Pritzker.

Whoa. Where’s the support for that? The last five-year budget projection provided by Pritzker, which was in November, shows deficits growing each year from now forward.

The truth is that federal bailout money, from both ARPA and other sources, indeed went far beyond harm sustained by states because of the pandemic. That has spiked inflation and the federal deficit and led to huge budget surpluses in many other states. For Illinois, that federal help won’t last long and the state will be left in a position similar to where it was before the bailout.

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.

Excerpt of questions at House hearing:

Congressman Krishnamoorthi: Governor Pritzker before you became governor the state faced a $17 billion backlog of unpaid bills, correct?

Governor Pritzker: That’s correct.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi: You’ve eliminated this backlog of bills, right?

Governor Pritzker: That’s correct. Actually even before the ARPA dollars or support from the federal government.

Representative Krishnamoorthi: And before you became governor, state did not have a surplus right?

Governor Pritzker: That’s correct.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi: And now you almost have a $2 billion surplus with surpluses projected for years to come right?

Governor Pritzker: Yes Sir.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi: And before you became governor the credit rating agencies downgraded Illinois credit multiple times, right?

Governor Pritzker: That’s correct.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi: And now you’ve seen Illinois’s credit upgraded at least twice, right?

Governor Pritzker: Exactly.