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Senate president lets budget veto deadline pass The Oct. 25
deadline to override the governor's budget vetoes has passed and
with it the final opportunity for the Illinois Senate to act on
budget vetoes previously voted on by the Illinois House of
Representatives.
Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, refused to allow Senate
action on all the budget vetoes, which included money for health
care workers, guards for prisons that are severely understaffed and
a number of programs that help the state's most vulnerable citizens,
including veterans, people with developmental disabilities, alcohol
and substance abuse patients, people with mental illness, and
children with autism.
The governor's budget vetoes offer no savings to taxpayers. The
governor does not intend to reduce spending but instead is simply
reallocating the funds to other programs that could cost as much as
$2.1 billion, more than four times more the amount of the budget
vetoes.
The Illinois Constitution says that the Senate must act on the
vetoes within 15 calendar days of receiving them from the House.
Without any action by Oct. 25, the governor's changes have
automatically gone into effect.
[Text from file sent on behalf of
Sen.
Bill Brady by Illinois
Senate Republican staff]
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