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 The House voted 69-48 on the measure and 73-45 on a related bill
to appropriate funding for some key services that are running out of
money. The bills now move to the state Senate, where Senate
President John Cullerton will meet with his Democratic caucus to
gauge support, said Rikeesha Phelon, his spokeswoman.
Cullerton said last month that the questionable $6.6 billion in
spending cuts and savings that new Republican Governor Bruce Rauner
put in his $32 billion fiscal 2016 budget proposal on Feb. 18 made
reaching an agreement on the fiscal 2015 budget fix more difficult.
Earlier on Tuesday, top aides to Rauner testified before the House
Executive Committee in favor of the Democrat-sponsored legislation
to fix the current budget.
"Governor Rauner didn't create this fiscal mess, but he is willing
to work across party lines to fix it," Richard Goldberg, the
governor's deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs, told the
committee.
 He noted that the legislation offered by Democratic House Speaker
Michael Madigan does not rely on higher taxes or borrowing.
More than 80 percent of the state's budget hole would be filled
through the fund transfers, according to Democratic House Majority
Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a sponsor of the legislation. She told
the House committee that the plan provides funding for services that
were running out of money well before the fiscal year ends on June
30, including for prison guards, court reporters and child care.
"This way, I think we can get through the remainder of the fiscal
year," Currie said.
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She added that the legislation would give Rauner the ability to
transfer some funds between agencies, along with a $97 million
lump-sum appropriation to help school districts unable to handle the
2.25 percent funding cut and another $90 million to plug
unanticipated budget holes.
Illinois' credit ratings at the bottom of the A-scale are the lowest
among the 50 states and have negative outlooks tipping toward
triple-B - a low investment-grade rating level rarely assigned to
U.S. states.
A structural budget deficit, a $105 billion unfunded pension
liability and revenue loss from the partial rollback of temporary
income tax rates are key factors.
(Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Paul Simao)
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