The state of Illinois is expected to receive $7 billion in COVID relief funding from the federal government. And already there are plenty of opinions on how to spend it.

Comptroller Susana Mendoza wants those dollars to go to covering the short-term borrowing the state did during the start of the pandemic and to pay off the bill backlog. House Republican Tom Demmer agrees but also wants many of those dollars to flow to businesses who lost income because of shutdowns.

Demmer and other Republicans want more communication between them and the Governor’s office on how the dollars will be allocated.