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Illinois governor announces $1 billion cybersecurity plan

Kalamazoo Public Library
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has unveiled a broad-based cybersecurity plan that would cost $1 billion to implement.

The Republican announced the plan Tuesday. He says protecting citizens from cyberattacks should be a priority even amid the state's fiscal crisis.

 The framework outlines goals to protect state information systems. But it covers only executive branch agencies directly. It wouldn't have prevented incidents like the cyberattack on Illinois voter data last fall. Officials say no information was changed nor voting affected.

The plan would pool $900 million in existing state agency spending. It would also require $250 million to connect agency systems. Rauner says a cost-cutting pension overhaul could be one source of funding.

He again criticized Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza for cutting program funding. She says other services should come first.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.