McLean County Times

State Sen. Sally Turner (R-Lincoln) said though she was encouraged by some of the planned expenditures laid out by Gov. J.B. Pritzker during his State of the State address, she said some vulnerable people in her district weren't provided for in the budget.

In a response video posted to her Facebook page, Turner said she supported the governor's plans to offer universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, but she said she wanted to hear more about energy assistance. 

"I guess I was happy (with) the information that I heard about the childcare desert. It’s very important to my district," she said. "My district has a great area of home daycare and a lot of them are having a hard time getting by, and I appreciate that part and also that with childcare - I'm on the new early childcare committee - and I look forward to seeing the things that we'll be able to do." 

Pritzker said Smart Start Illinois has four elements: pre-K, childcare, early intervention, and home visiting. The four-year program, he says, will increase the state's funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant Program by $75 million.

As part of the Smart Start Illinois plan, Pritzker said he wanted to invest $440 million, and that would help bring 5,000 children into the program this year.

Turner said that there "were a lot of things that were concerning to me, and most of them have to do with the (increased) expenditures of dollars, and that we're not going to have this big influx of money coming in for the federal government. So that worries me." Turner said that because of the additional spending, such as Pritzker's $440 million early childhood plan, "our most vulnerable, like our seniors (and) our developmentally disabled, those people might not be taken care of the way that they should be."

She also expressed concerns about the need for energy relief to Ameren customers. She said she "wanted to see the governor mention something about money to be appropriated for all of us in that Ameren area to have some kind of relief, and we didn't see that as well."

Still, Turner said, "I'm looking forward to seeing what we all can do together and work together for a better Illinois."

According to her Senate biography, Turner (R-44) was appointed to the Illinois Senate in 2021. Her legislative experience includes serving on the Ethics Committee and Senate Higher Education Committee. She lives in Beason