Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11tv Illinois Governor Delivers State of the State Address CSPAN March 11, 2024 11:37pm-12:33am EDT
11:37 pm
all of the world and ensure that it remains that for those who t to live here for their children and their children's children. may the l and favor out on each one of you and continue to bless the people and the place that make up the great state of tennessee. thank you very much. [applause] >> now to illinois for remarks by two-term governor jb
11:38 pm
pritzker. he also addresses increase of asylum seekers and migrants into the state and criticized texas governor greg abbott for busing migrants to major cities all over the country without warning. this is just under an hour. [applause]■í
11:40 pm
>> members and guests, the honorable governor of this great state the honorableb pritsker. [applause]■a [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you all very much speaker welch, president harmon, lieutenant governor members to have 103rd general
11:41 pm
assembly, chief justice tice and, of course, all the members of the supreme guests, the first lady of illinois, my soulmate mk.[appla] >> and all the people of the great state of illinois, i am so grateful to be here today to deliver my sixth state of the state and budget address. i love my job, i love living in illinois and spendingveworking f our residents in a world seemingly filled with chaos it's a privilege to bringing stability and progress. we live in the state that's filled with people decency and here in springfield
11:42 pm
one of the most interesting guys i know is ian hunt, head of acquisition at the abraham lincoln museum and if you ask ian, he will tell you ones an original version of lincoln's gettysburg address. it's known as the copy. one only five to have been handwritten by abraham lincoln it's named after former massachusetts governor. at gets berg onfo■ november 19, 1863evertt was the other guy who spoke. he gave a two-hour speech that almost no one remembers. whenever it was finished l two-e speech that has never been
11:43 pm
forgotten. a life lesson for every politician. [laughter] >> the everett copy of linken gettysburg address remained in hands for almost 80 in 1943 where the world war raging across the globe word came to dwight green t everett copy had2u passed away. so his administration came to av agreement with the sell the other purchase it for $60,000. the problem was illinois didn't have $60,000 to spend on gettysburg address in 1943 and governor greene knew this so he did something unusual. he enl■.■=isn of illinoiso collect pennies
11:44 pm
and nickels. there was skepticism that kids were going to come up with enough money to buy the gettysburg in the middle of a world war and at the heels of the great depression but no one should ever doubt the children of illinois. [aears ago a newspaper interviewed a springfield man named gene who noted that as young boy 1943 he sacrificed saturday afternoon movie for a few months so that he could give his weekly allowance to donation drive. it took the cinois only 6 months to raise $40,000, marshalfield the third, grandson of department magnate helped with the rest.
11:45 pm
in 1944 almost exactly 80 years ago fou soo presented the hand-written gettysburg address to the illinois state historical library and it has been our mosr since. i love this story. it has everything, imagination, ingenuity, sacrifice, patriotism and elected officials that didn stop at no and children with a vision beyond their years doing something important for our future. it's a how penny by penny illinoisans wasn't shaved something important. it's a story about our past but also a story about who we are today because penny by penny we are still working together saving important things for our
11:46 pm
state. 5 years ago when people said we couldn't do it, many of us went to work eliminating our buildback log and balancing 5 state budgets in a row, we created a 2 billion-dollar rainy dayd, credit upgrades and in the face of pandemic and high inflation we delivered historic tax relief provided record levels of rental and mortgage assistance and reduced interest cost by paying off. [applause] >> we've also grown illinois' economy to over $1 trillion, that's more than most nations. [applause] >> in 2023 alone we attracted billions of dollars in new busiss investments and created tens of thousands of new jobs.
11:47 pm
average a new business moved to illinois or expanded here every single day last year. [applause] >> thanks to our bipartisan tax credit legislation illinois is ld's fourth largest data center market and we broke an all-time record for film and tv production revenue, tousm las hotel industry set record $5.5 billion. [applause] >> in the midwest we are now the number one state for workforce0 states we are number 2 for infrastructure. number 2 for education, number 3 for power grid reliability, we r two best business schools in the
11:48 pm
country and since 2018 we've moved a whopping 13 spots in cnbc's best state for business. [applause] >> these are the things that matter to businesses looking for aorkforce can live, work and play afford by and with world-class healthcare and education. now we have a lot of work left to do but we together have met this moment that we are in. do not let the doom■5 steal your optimism about what's ahead for illinois. our future is bright and opportunity lies ahead. [applause] >> last year we launched alled e illinois the best state in the
11:49 pm
nation for preschool, child care, early intervention and home1b visiting. [applause] it's already making a huge difference for young families would be able to add 5,000 preschool seats by the end of year one, we exceeded that goal bywe created 5,823 nel spots. [applause] >> all of which are options that parents didn't have before as a result right now we have publicl classroom seats, the highest number in our state's history and stayinge will achieve univel preschool by [applause] >> smart start also expanded access to early intervention and
11:50 pm
evidence-based home visiting home services for families with babies and young children by adding 26 more programs serving nearly 3,000 more kids and we established the nation lea workt program thanks to initial investment of $130 million stabilizing and raising wages forkf is primarily women and people of color. that helps providers maintain and grow staffing while still devering the quality care that illinois children deserve. smart start is having the desired benefit for working parents and their childn, ratese higher than ever before with 1,670,000 children receiving services. there was a fear that our entire child c sm might crumble in the wake of the pandemic, insteadj+ it's growin. heather andrade is a rochester
11:51 pm
parent and when i recently her t start changed her child's life and after tremendous difficult prnaa into this world, a healthy, happy little baby. but as natalia grew heather noticed that she was pes in her development and in her speech. heather knew that she needed help. thanks to smart start elementary was able to open a full they program offering early childhood education and child care including early therapy, since natalia's first day in that program her progress has been nothing short of remarkable. she can spell her name, she can write her natalia now talks so much that they're even considering pulling her out of
11:52 pm
speech therapy. natalia is]-hrive when she enters kindergarten and her path ahead couldn't be brighter. heather's success storyt9 as a m stands as a testimonial. it reminds us of all the parents throughout who need just a little extra help to give kids that smart start. heather is here today and i ask you to give her a big round ofd applause. [applause] >> it's with heather and natalia in plan that we increase our plan and start funding by $150 milonate 5,000 new preschool seats and continue growing child care and
11:53 pm
with critical early childhood services and i also ask that in this budget we begin the first phase of consolidating stategovd programs into one agency called the department of early childhood. [applause] >> with the 13 million-dollar investment parents and providers will have a one-stop shop for resources and programs from finding child care and preschool to accessing early childhood block grants and day care ly every study shows that investing in early childhood isn't just about child's first n the k-12 education and beyond. every single year increase o investments in education because a quality education is the
11:54 pm
strong society. life and like majority leader lightferd and senator along with representatives dis and steward who have spent their entire careers fighting for our public schools all while weighing the tough choices to keep our b inr plan to see in 2. news ranked illinois high school students number 2 in the nation in college readiness anded illil for education. we notched our highest graduation rate in 13 years andq teacher retention was the >> the rate of ninth graders on
11:55 pm
track to graduate now exceeds pre-pandemic levels. ni:éc absenteeism is turning around and proficiency in english language arts and math increased drum atically. we can draw arom these results to last year's budget. our 45 million-dollar teacher pipeline grant program brought 5,384 new teachers into the field reaching more than 730,000 ■g the highest need. teachers are the single most important investment we can make in our schools. [applause] so i propose that we invest another $45 million in the teacher pipeline program
11:56 pm
bringing thousands more educators into the field. [applause] the evidence-based funding model is working so myt ebf law's recommendation increasing it again0 million and we will fully fund special education and continue increasing funds for school transportation by $30 million. [applause] higher education continues its tremendous upward trajectory the second year in a row the illinois community college system celebrated historic headd largest increase in enrollment numbers in the last 30 years and far higher than the rest of the united states. more illinois students are taking advantage of our great
11:57 pm
colleges and universities with well-funded map grant and aim high scholarship programs. [applause] so the net tuition cost for most illinois students attending illinois schools continues to decline. our higher education it's important that year in and year out even in lean budget years we demonstrate a commitment to thesenstitutions which is why why my budget proposal includes more than 30 million-dollar increase in direct operating support public education institutions and that's on on top of continuing record capital investments that we are making through rebuild illinois. [applause] >> improving attainment and retention is assisting private illinois workforce shortage and it's also having a similar effect on state government.
11:58 pm
we are finally moving closer to' achieving the staffing levels that we need to support our work. the department on aging, human services, health care and family has improved hiring to improve head count example, has achieved highest staffing in more than 15 years through a combination of funding, ingenuity and sheer hard work. dcfs is more focused on how to best protect illinois children. today nearly every call t abuse and negligent hotline is answered immediately. that's up from only 50% in 2019. 99.7% were indicated and initiated within 24 hours.
11:59 pm
and within 7■v days 96% of children have been seen by an investigator with the additional $14 million in funding in fy25 dcfs will reach head count of 4,000 staff for the first time in more than 2 decades. as always there's always more to do and dcfs doing it. i want to thank outgoing dcfs director for five years of service in the state east most difficult job and i welcome incoming director heidi mueller who served two administrations as the pioneering head of the department of juvenile justice. i've visited many djj facilities over my time in office andt'sibd admiration the state most vulnerable children have for her. we are lucky to have her in this
12:00 am
new role. [applause] >> the people who work at dcfs ar witness t trauma and heartbreak every single day. they're rarely lotted for theirh successes and most often used as punching bag for larger societal issues and they work longhe herc workers have been subject of threat and violence. i want them to know that i see them and that i see their work and that i am incredibly grateful for their service and i ask each of you in this chamber to offer tmour gratitude too. their dedication is worthy of recognition. [applause] .. ..
12:01 am
a safety net is been a goal ofm. but to do so we have had to work on transforming our healthcare ecosystem. after so many years of neglect we have begun to tur ts around by reducing the price of prescription drugs. implementing hospital transformation and enacting a lower-cost state basedealt insurance marketplace. i want to think fiddlers linda holmes, and westby as well as■é robin gable for their groundbreaking work on healthcare reform over the last few years. [applause] and now it is time we takeother.
12:02 am
this legislative session i'm introducing a bill to curb predatory insurance practices. putting thehe hands of patients and their doctors. [applause] it is called and protection act. it has three parts the first utilization management. called what is utilization management? that it's insurance speak for denying coverage. companies to boost profits by requiring consumers that permission before they receive care but would not surprise you to know thosereque. one method of utilization management is referred to as prior authorization. a consumer must get permission from the insurance company to get treatment from their own dr., their doctor hy necessary.
12:03 am
and other was step therapy. a paties a less effective treatment and have that fail before doing the actual quality care there doctor doctorsays they needed in the ft place. any dr. will tell you how much they low that these practices and how often they used to denyy patients that they desperately need. almost everyone has a horror story about prior. lest you think i'm exaggerating let me share one such story. onef our state employees was diagnosed by his cardiologist with serious heart disease and scheduled open heart surgery. the procedure, which take a month to schedule, the health insurer denied the prior authorization request. the insurance without
12:04 am
consulting the doctor of the tht surgery was unnecessary. or get treated. my office got involved at the family was afraid he could die the prior authorization is granted. that is simplyeptable. doctors and the patient to be making decisions patient care. there should never be an instance where an insurance company who can deny coverage for something as serious as open-heart surgery. we should never ever ever
12:05 am
see these decisions to the winds of insurance executives whose focus is always on the bottom line. when it comes to patient care the only bottom matters is what needs to be done to keep people healthy. the legislation i am p would ban step therapy in illinois forced insurance companies to use the same definition of medical necessity that doctors use. [applause] among the other features of this bill illinois be the first state that he should to be in prior authorization adults and children mental health care. [applause][applause] thatea patient suffering a
12:06 am
mental health crisis can get the care they need without jumping through hoops designed to deny coverage. going to make sure insurance pans publicly post all treatments that require prior shopping for coverage. we are also going to pro selling short term limited duration plans. it's also called junk insurance. [applause] these are plans offered lower premiums to bridge gaps in insurance coverage. meet even the minimum standards of the affordable care act. just not covered maternal health care. healthcare. they do not cover mental health and substance abuse treatment for prescription drugs.
12:07 am
but 12 other states in the nation is time for illinois to bay and junk insurance plans. [applause] the second part of the legislation covers adequacy. that is a standard insurance companies must meeto ensure there are enough in network doctors to treat consumers when and where they need healthcare. in recent years it's in the rise of ghost networks in directory shows doctors and specialists within reality are not accepting new aren't in network or do not exist at all. health insurance company should be helping consumers them. to update their network directories of doctors to the actual ability of healthcare. we're going to punish them if they don't. [applause]
12:08 am
the third piece of consumer access from unfairly increasing rates on consumers for last year might miss ray she was proud to work with members of the senate, the house and other stakeholders to end unchecked rate increases. for small group insurance those3 and individuals. it's going to require a large group insurance carriers do the same. i'm haunted by the reality there illinois and suffering and in some cases the loss of battle with an insurance company but i've talked to people who have e mountains of paperwork or the endless search for an network doctor dozens of hours on the phone arguing with unsympathet .
12:09 am
getting to healthcare their need should not be this hard. now i know how hard the insurance industry will fight me on this. but let me be perfectly clear i am willing to send serious political capitol put my shoulder to the whe to get this done. it will save lives at lower healthcare costs millions of illinoisans. [applause] it's also time to help those who've suffered financial harm. often through no fault of their own from past failures of a broken health insurance and healthcare billing system.■ treating a health emergency is not an optional expense. too many have had their credit ruined or have bee when they hae
12:10 am
unexpected accident or one prolonged illness. today i propose of t nex years we eliminate $4 billion of illinoisans. for over 1 million [applause] working with a national nonprofit called medical debt to buy back and eliminate every dollar of medical debt. we can start this year with a on-dollar appropriation to relieve nearly $1 billion in medical debt for the first cohort of three and 40000 illinoisans. je[applause] county board president who is already done this for a residence in cook county, let's hi
12:11 am
illinois. [applause] illinois a serious eo reduce maternal mortality rates is long overdue. black women in our state die from pregnancy -related causes than white women. it is imperative that we act now ensuring that as we do we also reduce and eliminate racial disparities. the current system is failing our most vv6ulnerable a babies. solution wise as it often does at the community level. certified nurse midwife at the birth center pcc. the first freestanding birthing center to open in illinois. but in her home community on the south side of chicago notes such as center has everxi
12:12 am
after years of immobilizing grant applications she finally is able to open chicago's south side birth c needs offering full spectrum of reproductive care from contraception's scrni birtd postpartum care. [applause] it can be a model for how illinois can decrease black maternal mortality. because of the work of my administration is already done beginning this year's duelist, midwives and lactation consultants can now be recognized as an medicaid healthcare providers ensuring they can be fairly compensated. [applause] that will make more services more readily available to communities with the highest mortality rates ande even more.
12:13 am
i intend to break down bureaucratic barriers and state government by coordinating work across agents to improve access to a full spectrum of reproductive health care services. our department of public health will provide grants to assist providers with the medicaid certification and licensing associate was starting and-based practice. we will also invest an additional $1 million dce oh capitol grants relatingo the cost of opening the centers. dhs will invest $1 million in a pilot program to ensure new moms and babiesave clean diapers. along with additional $5 million into home visiting for most vulnerable families to connect new moms a babies with the resources they need to be healthy and thrive during babies first year.
12:14 am
my budget also proposes investing $12 million to create a child tax credit for families raising our youngest children. [applause] by targeting this investment low and middle income families with children underhrk in the pocketr newest parents who needed the most and make those early years just a little bit easier. making 23 million-dollar investment so put us on a path to birth equity a path and a destination that jeanine and her■" colagues in the field can be proud of it. jeanine is here today and i would ask her to stand and be recognized. [applause]
12:15 am
one of my missions as governor is to make life for working families. establishing a child tax credit, eliminating medical debt lowering the cost healthcare, making it easier to get a college education. bringing quality childcare closer to home so moms and dads these are not esoteric policy proposals but actually do lift the burdens up away from everyday illinoisa even though inflation continues to cool off folks are still feeling the squeeze every week at the grocery store so there's just one more thing we ought to do for the good of our states working families let's a permanently eliminate the grocery tax. [applause]
12:16 am
it is one more regressive tax that would if it reduces inflation for families from four -- 3% even if it only puts a few hundred bucks back and families is the right thing to do. food access is far from the only necessity we are tackling. in 2020 when they signed executive order that launched home illinoisgovernment approact and owned end homelessness last year we put this plan into action investing $200 million crisis response, housing unit and staffing to ensure every person has a fighting chance. a matter of moe
12:17 am
illinois sustained and created thousands of new shelter beds for a longresidents across the . we provided housing and services to young adults aging out of foster care who are at risk of becoming on house we gave one one-time financial support to working illinoisans who, due ton their rent and risked losing their home or apartment. we kept thousands of illinoisans in their people who might otherwise have been on house. take jasmine for example. jasmine was living in her car children while she was eight months into a high-risk pregnancy. when jasmine was finally connected to housing ford a homeless agency they mutely took her in providing shelter and wraparound clinical services.
12:18 am
while out housing forward rises center, jasmine gave birth to a healthy little baby, and rolledd education, registered for a ged program and now jasmine is looking for employment. today shes on a path to permanent housing. there are many hundreds of people like jasmine all across [applause]in need of help.■@ we know black individuals and families make housed while making up only 14% of the overall population.hi■ al equity roundtable on black homelessness for the only effort of this kind in the work i am proposing an additional $50 million to attack the root causes of housing and security [applause]■
12:19 am
and all the while we wlerve othk populations like veterans and those who are medically vulnerable with the shelter and [applause] underlying home illinois is a belief this state values the dignity of human life in the universal right to a safe home. not so with all i would build a wall of steel a while as high as heaven against the admission of a single one of those southern europeans spoke the language of a democracy in their lives. those words were spoken 100 years ago by governor clifford walker at a ku klux klan rally.
12:20 am
but the reality as it could have been s post by donald trump last week. time might march forward but our society's worst impulses seem to ne away. i've spoken many time about my families refugee history. i will not j d chamber who eagerly looked to slam, shut in immigration door that was once open to our ancestors. [applause]■g over the last 18 35000 asylum-se arrived in illinois. most of them landed here and buses sent by governor abbott of texas. abbott willfully plan the arrival of these individuals in
12:21 am
locations and at times that would engender the maximum chaor the asylum-seekers themselves. children, pregnant women and the eldeye in the dead of night far from our dozen welcome centers and freezing wearingp-flops and t-shirts. think about that the next time a politician from texas was a lecturer you about being a good christian.
12:22 am
our immigration system has been br time. no doubt the current migrant crisis is a problem of the federal government's making and i mean both politic when i leave podium today there will be some who walk outside this chamber looking for a microphonet things are yelling about sanctuary city and immigrants with our tax dollars. i hope the press covering the stónatements will ask the politicians one important question, did you or did you not support the federal immigration bill the white house agreed to a ■] there is a chance to weeks ago for a breakthrough in immigration policy. the congressional democrats did with voters said they want from leaders. they sat down at the table with republicans bipartisan compromise.
12:23 am
the white house announced to build those supported by top republican leadership in the within hours or public onto it helped write the legislation announced the legislation. including most glaringly every single republican member of the why did this happen?al when every single republican run away from something they claimed they desperately want because donald trump told him too. and they are afraid of him. why did trump tell them to reject the he wondered she is the issue of immigration against president biden and the november elections. i am not making hyperbolic statements loud. that bill would have helped illinois it would have provided money and resources we don't al as a state far from the southern border.
12:24 am
some republicans find it hard to put countryve obligations to the people really represent supersede the letter after our names. joe biden has beenesident who he economy protected freedom but states and cities states and cities in the country's interioe the rapid influx of new arrivals we have seen. the white house the federal government need to step up to coordinate and manage these asylum-seekers when they cross the b [applause] they should not leave it to the governor of texas was no goal but to so payoff and destruction. maybe some of you think we sh say this is not our problem.
12:25 am
we should let the migrant families starve our freeze to death.■ that is not decent midwesterners do. that is not what leaders do. we did not ask for this manufacture crisis but we must same. other partners in cook county and city of chicago my administration of comprehensive response plan over the next 12 months. we use the most reliable data available estimated what it wo ensure the most basic human needs are met for asylum-seekers arriving in chicago. this plan includes continuing our efforts to divert as many people as possible away from temporary shelter to more permanent settlement wherever that may be. not because we are unwelcoming and immigrants. but because chicago shelter system is nea■r capacy it is dangerous if migrants have no shelter or support at all.
12:26 am
to date with movement 9000 arrival to temporary shelter to independent housing and self-sufficiency. thousands of others have moved on to find a family or sponsors. we have also helped thousands to the temporary protected status and authorization process. lega. private industry in illinois has expressed a strong desire to hire those who are authorized to woo the mayor of chicago cook county board president i would come to the general assembly and ask for funding for a littler of plan wh comes to $181.7 million. we do not have any clear idea how long governor abbott intends to hold the nation hostage. but his the political stunt will eventually come to anq)■ñ select certified through afterst
12:27 am
shelters can an opt or be converted to other productive uses as determined by the communities themselves. neighborhood clinics, committee centers, workforce training, housing, there's lots of good ideas i've heard from people.■ we have designated $5 million in this budget for shelter conversion grants. [applause] i won't pretend to any of this is easy but it would be irresponsible to do anything but come here, lay out the scope of the challenging time but i think we need to do and work with you to make it happen. personally i think each of us set by the good people of our state. evanson's michael moyer is fixing up bicycles to donate tog english to our new neighbors on
12:28 am
a baskeall court and then there's oak park elaine pierce a retiree elaine opened her modest two-story three-bedroom home to seven new family members as she would say absorbing all of the costs on her own. among the best of us in epitomizing what it means to be in illinois and through and through. let's thank them today. [applause] our fy 25 budget proposal make some hard choices. i wish we had big surpluses to work with this year to take on every one of the very real challenges that we face it. it is important to note that while this budget is tight this
12:29 am
order and we are able to keep our communities and our commitments to those communities and to the people of illinois. this year's budget is focused and disciplined and because of the responsible actions we took in the last few years of paying off state debt treating federal pandemic relief is one time a revenue we are not facing the budgetary challenges that others are big states are5. california for example has a $38 billion deficit to contend with. meanwhile illinois budget is n all the progress we have made paying our pensions and full hurt investing more in our public schools, social service■u agencs and health care while addressing the immediate and unique needs of the coming fiscal year. [applause] now i expect some of you will want to spend more.
12:30 am
d you want to spend less. i know this and i'm always open to good ideas that members of he efficiently and effectively fulfill our obligations. my one line in the sand as i will only sign■ balanced does nt diminish or derail the improving credit standing we have achieved for t [applause] eighty years ago in the middle of a world war our state decided it wanted to preserve an important momento of our p governor greene know illinoisans in every corner of the state were watching their family and friends and neighborsing fascis. good leaders are practical but they also know the power ones.
12:31 am
it is poetic and prophetic that it was children who came to the rescue in 1943 to enable the acquisition of one of illinois true jewels. somehow it is always our kids who know how tt while reaching r future. i am struck by the words of jean ripley that springfield boy who gave up money every week to donate to the gettysburg address efforts. he noted years later it meant us bng apart of something like that. and it did mean something. that■q■pa lifelong love of history. when he retired he works at the abraham lincoln museum
12:32 am
give so much of themselves and return. that reciprocal investment is the essence of statesmanship and citizenship and what makes a society and what has made illinois great. thank you, god bless you and the great state of illinois and the united states of america. [applause] [cheering]
32 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CSPAN2
Television Archive 
Television Archive News Search Service 
Uploaded by TV Archive on
