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 State Senate President John Cullerton quietly used a parliamentary
maneuver to block the budget after lawmakers voted on it, holding it
in the Senate instead of sending it to Gov. Pat Quinn.
The action is mostly symbolic, since Quinn says he won't sign the
budget. He argues it would require massive cuts in services to the
state's neediest people.
But Cullerton's move is another indication of how hard it could be
for state leaders to come up with a new budget before the old one
expires June 30.
Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said there was no point in
sending the governor a budget that he flatly rejects. "It's been
made very clear to us that balancing the budget with what we had was
deemed insufficient," she said.
There was no immediate comment from Quinn's office. House Speaker
Michael Madigan knows about Cullerton's action and supports it, said
spokesman Steve Brown.
Cullerton, Quinn and Madigan -- all Chicago Democrats -- support
raising taxes to avoid the worst of the cuts that would be required
to close an $11.6 billion budget deficit. The Senate approved a tax
increase, but it failed in the House.
So lawmakers approved a budget that sponsors say would force the
governor to cut spending by about $7 billion. Lawmakers
sarcastically described it as a "lights on" budget -- meaning it
would provide enough money for agencies to keep the lights on but
nothing more.
Many lawmakers, including Cullerton, said they didn't like approving
cuts that would certainly mean slashing services but that there was
no money available for something better. This version, they said
Sunday night, would at least keep government operating while
officials tried to come up with an alternative.
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 Quinn and top legislators met Monday to begin negotiations on a
different budget and emerged with pledges of cooperation and
teamwork. It was after that meeting, Phelon said, that Cullerton halted the
budget from going to Quinn, a move that was first reported by the
political newsletter Capitol Fax.
Cullerton filed a "motion to reconsider" -- essentially asking for
the Senate to take a second vote on the budget. That means the
budget remains in the Senate until Cullerton withdraws his motion or
senators formally decide whether to vote again.
Phelon said Cullerton sees no point in sending the budget to Quinn,
who has been scolding lawmakers for not coming up with a better
plan.
"There's a lot of talk about how Democrats are hurting the poor and
not considering the needs of people who would be affected by the
reality of what the budget is," she said.
[Associated Press; By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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