Quick hits: Illinois news in brief for Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Applications for rental help being accepted through July 18
Landlords and their tenants in arrears because of the ongoing eviction moratorium tied to the COVID-19 pandemic have eleven more days to apply for federal funds to cover back rent.
Applications for the funding are being accepted through July 18 at ILRPP.IHDA.org.
State Sens. Don DeWitte and Craig Wilcox are holding an online seminar to help applicants navigate the process on July 13. Participants must register with their offices.
Medicaid expansion bill now law
A measure expanding Medicaid services that passed both chambers of the Illinois legislature unanimously is now law.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2294, which allows people to be covered by Medicaid despite their income and employment status, continues guaranteed coverage for the All Kids program, inpatient detox services and coverage of smoking cessation programs.
There’s also a provision that reimburses immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplants for non-citizens.
Biden visits Illinois
President Joe Biden will be in Crystal Lake this afternoon. He’ll be joined by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others.
Pritzker expects the president to talk about a spending plan with more funds for families. Biden will also meet with Chicago’s mayor upon arriving at O’Hare airport.
It’s unclear if they’ll discuss the recent violence in Chicago and other parts of the state.
State cannabis tax revenue tops $317 million
The state finished the previous fiscal year with more than $317 million in cannabis taxes.
That far eclipsed the $52.7 million the state collected for the previous year with just six months worth of sales. More than a third of the revenue goes to the state’s general revenue fund.
Ten percent goes to the state’s backlog of unpaid bills. A quarter of every cannabis tax dollar goes to community groups in certain areas.
Total sales for May were nearly $116.4 million. That’s nearly $1.5 million more than was sold in April.
Sports wagering down
Those placing sports bets in Illinois wagered fewer dollars in May than they did in April by 5.6 percent.
Despite being the second monthly decline, industry analysts with PlayIllinois.com say the state is still the No. 2 sports betting jurisdiction in the country.
Illinois saw $507.3 million in May, down from $537.2 million in April. That generated nearly $6 million in state and local taxes.
Illinois Red Cross calls for blood donations
The Illinois Red Cross is putting out the call for blood donors to step up.
There’s a severe national blood shortage after the holiday weekend and heading into the peak of summer.
A Red Cross official said 38 percent of the population can give blood, but only 3 percent do. They’re looking for all types, but especially Type O. Find information at RedCrossBlood.org.
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