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SPRINGFIELD (WSIL) --  Illinois House Democrats Wednesday night passed SB2803, which would appropriate $2.7 Billion from the American Rescue Plan to the unemployment fund. 

This would address the state's current $4.5 Billion deficit.

The bill also includes investments for pension funds, group health insurance and college student assistance.

The plan passed on a partisan 68-43 vote and now goes back to the Senate for consideration. 

Democrats say the plan needs to get to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk for approval this week to meet a federal deadline for that spending.

"Illinois is putting our fiscal house in order and paying off our debt. I applaud House Democrats for prioritizing legislation that will use our resources in the most fiscally responsible way: SB2803 will pay down more than $4.1 billion in debt," said Gov. JB Pritzker. "I’m disappointed that Republicans are putting their politics ahead of fiscal responsibility while Democrats in the General Assembly are taking the lead to put our fiscal house in order."

But Republicans were not so thrilled with the passage of the bill. 

Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) said he was disappointed in the decision.

“Democrats are being irresponsible with money again,� Severin said. “Their plan only partially pays back the billions we owe the Federal government for money we borrowed to keep our unemployment insurance fund afloat. This is frustrating to me because we have plenty of ARPA and CARES money to pay the fund back before the deadline. It doesn’t have to be this way.�

Severin says the Democrats' plan contained in SB 2803 will leave a $1.7 billion hole in the unemployment insurance trust fund with no plan to pay back the money.

Rep. Paul Jacobs had similar feelings about the move by Democrats. 

“Many other states faced the same challenge we do, and they responsibly used these federal relief dollars to pay off their unemployment insurance debt and avoid tax increases or benefit reductions � but not Illinois. Illinois Democrats have shamefully prioritized their own pork projects ahead of shoring up our unemployment insurance fund. This is especially dangerous given Governor Pritzker's willingness to unilaterally close down the entire economy when COVID-19 began....If we have another emergency, the fund will be short, and Uncle Sam is not likely to print trillions of dollars again to bail us out. The Democrats made a huge mistake by shorting the fund. They've left taxpayers on the hook for millions more in interest payments to the federal government and they've set conditions that will lead to a tax hike on every job in Illinois."