Illinois moving $100M in state funds to banks to back loans for federal workers

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Wednesday announced that the state will move up to $100 million from state investments to private banks and credit unions in an effort to boost low-interest loans to help federal workers who aren’t getting paid during the partial government shutdown.

Pritzker blasted President Trump, blaming the president for the shutdown that entered its 34th day Thursday.

{mosads}“As the president brings the federal government to a standstill, trying to thwart democratic processes and force through a divisive and ineffective agenda, too many hardworking Illinoisans are paying a direct price,” Pritzker said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The plan calls for the state to send up to $100 million of its investments to banks that must agree to extend and finance low-interest loans to federal workers.

The state’s treasurer Mike Frerichs (D) was with Pritzker to announce the move. Frerichs said the banks and not the state will set the terms of the loans, decide who is eligible for them and ultimately be on the hook for the loans if the borrower defaults.

Furloughed federal workers, which number in the thousands in Illinois, will miss their second paycheck Friday unless a last-minute funding bill is passed.

Democrats and Republicans have so far been unable to come to an agreement as President Trump has said he will not sign any spending bill that does not include more than $5 billion for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Several banks have rolled out assistance programs for the more than 800,000 federal workers who aren’t getting paid, including reversing overdraft fees and providing small, low-interest loans to some.