Progress on State Library Grant Funding

December 7, 2015
Today the Illinois Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill (SB) 2039 which was approved by the Illinois House of Representatives last week. This legislation appropriates a little more than half of the proposed budget for Fiscal 2016 library grants, including equalization and per capita grants for public libraries, systems, and schools.  Governor Bruce Rauner has stated that he will sign this legislation.
State library grants are funded by a combination of state general revenues (such as income and sales taxes) and Live and Learn funds. Live and Learn funds are collected for specific purposes and segregated from general revenues.  The library grant spending authority in SB 2039 is based ONLY on revenues from Live and Learn Funds. The Illinois General Assembly has not yet approved spending general revenue dollars for library grant programs.  Until there is a final budget in place, there will not be full spending authority for library grants.  
Once the Governor signs SB 2039, Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White and the state library will have to determine how this partial grant funding will be disbursed.  ILA will continue to advocate for a full budget appropriation for library grants, and will update you on all legislative developments.
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