|
Quinn met with legislative leaders for about 90 minutes in his
Springfield office after lawmakers missed a Sunday night deadline to
come up with a new budget and figure out how to fill an $11.6
billion deficit. Lawmakers couldn't agree on a mix of spending cuts
and tax increases to close the gap. Now the state must start
sending notices to local agencies that provide a wide array of
services, warning they could lose much of their funding.
Both parties tried to stay positive after Monday's meeting.
Republicans said Democrats agreed to take a new look at reforms to
government pension and health programs to cut costs, while Democrat
Quinn said he's hopeful an agreement can be reached before service
cuts start taking effect July 1.
"I think the feeling in the room was very positive that we are a
team," Quinn said. He said budget staffs will meet Wednesday, then
he will meet again with legislative leaders Thursday in Chicago to
hear efficiency recommendations from his Taxpayer Action Board.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, indicated he doesn't
see the July 1 start of the budget year as a firm deadline. He noted
a stopgap budget is in place and ready for the governor to sign so
that government can keep operating.
"While we recognize there are problems out there and they need to
be dealt with, what we are talking about are reforms that aren't
going to happen overnight," Cross said. "We are not going to rush
this, whether it's on Medicaid, whether it's on pensions, whether
it's state agencies doing duplicative work. We're going to take some
time working on reform in a lot of areas before we have any
discussions about revenue."
Budget negotiations floundered over the weekend amid failed
attempts to raise state income taxes to fill the deficit. Top
lawmakers said without new tax dollars, available money would fall
about $7 billion short of covering government expenses in the coming
fiscal year.
After it became clear no tax increase would pass, both the House
and Senate approved a limited budget to keep state agencies running.
"This is it. This is all we have to spend," said House Majority
Leader Barbara Flynn Currie. "When we spend this, our pockets are
bare."
The House tried to come up with new money Sunday by voting on a
temporary income tax that would have generated about $4.5 billion.
It would have bumped the state's 3 percent personal tax rate to 4.5
percent for two years.
[to top of second column] |
The measure failed 42-74, with two "present" votes.
A day earlier, the Senate approved an even larger, permanent tax
increase. But Democrats said that plan had even less support in the
House.
Quinn said until a balanced budget is approved, he won't sign the
$28.3 billion statewide capital construction bill lawmakers have
sent him to pay for a boatload of public works projects.
The legislative session began with pledges of bipartisan
cooperation after the ouster of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, with leaders
of both parties blaming him for years of paralysis in Springfield.
The friction hadn't disappeared entirely; Republicans complained
they weren't included in serious budget talks until their votes were
needed at the end of session.
Lawmakers faced a Sunday deadline for deciding what to do about
the budget deficit for the 12 months starting July 1. Passing the
budget now requires a super-majority, giving the Republican minority
new leverage in budget discussions -- as well as a share of the
blame for any fallout.
___
The bills are
HB174,
SB1197,
SB2252.
–––
On the Net:
www.ilga.gov
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed. |
