It’s the final day of the spring session for the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield, and despite maneuvering on all sides to float a solution, the state still does not have a budget. Instead, the governor and Democrats agreed on a stop gap bill which will fully fund schools for the next year.
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The Senate agreed 50-7 Tuesday with House changes to the plan extending a pilot program and to add post-traumatic stress disorder as a medical condition treatable with cannabis.
Bruce Rauner delivers the yearly Budget Address Wednesday, February 17, 2016.
He and his fellow Republicans say the plan is Democrats’ way of continuing to spend at unsustainable levels, without having to take the politically tough vote to raise taxes to pay for it. Rauner also wants Democrats to cave to some of his pro-business demands.
Evanston Democratic Rep. Robyn Gabel says people seeking services at the Department on Aging or the departments of Human Services, Healthcare and Family Services, Employment Security and the Secretary of State’s office would be eligible. It allows spending occurring under court order or consent decrees, such as Medicaid, to continue at current rates. Democrats call it an “insurance policy” that will keep schools open and government functioning.
In an update to colleagues, SIU system president Randy Dunn said he does not see the bill being passed due to Rauner’s stance on higher education and the budget. If Rauner vetoes the bill, as promised, they’ll blame him for the fallout. “The proposal came out of the House [of Representatives] with less than a veto-proof majority, and its fate is uncertain in the Senate chamber”, Dunn said.
The resolution requires the state’s Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study of lead in Illinois’ drinking water and publish results online.
For 2017, it would appropriate full-year funding for early childhood, elementary and secondary education, in addition to $180 million in appropriations to pay for human service providers not now covered by court orders or consent decrees.
The budget impasse has hinged on Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda, which is focused on pension reform, term limits, weakening unions, freezing property taxes and redistricting workers compensation.
A temporary budget would provide funding up to January for schools, universities, prisons, and other state funded entities. The governor is also calling for a separate bill to ensure K-through-12 schools open in the fall.
And while Republican leaders are pushing for that measure to be approved by Tuesday night, Democratic leaders are saying that won’t happen.
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The third plan was approved two weeks ago. That means any movement on a budget in the Senate isn’t likely to occur until evening, after the election field is set.
