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Illinois Lawmakers Return For Week Two Of Summer Session

state of Illinois

The Illinois House and Senate will reconvene in Springfield today. The unusual June session comes as majority Democrats and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner continue to clash.

Credit state of Illinois

Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan say they’ve had “cordial” conversations. But their public statements have a different tone.

“The middle class is suffering under the politics of Speaker Madigan and President Cullerton," Rauner said.

Madigan says he thinks it’s an “example of functioning in the extreme.”

“It doesn’t help the process," Madigan said.

House Speaker Michael Madigan says Rauner's focus on pro-business changes is misplaced — that he ought to be more worried about getting the state’s finances in order.

“The interjection of these non-budget issues into that work is functioning on the extreme," Madigan said.

Rauner says his business agenda is about the budget, “because those regulatory reforms allow us to grow our economy, that increases our tax base, that increases our tax revenue to fund the budget."

Meanwhile, Democrats in the Senate say tomorrow they’ll press their own economic agenda. It features free community college, a minimum-wage increase and guaranteed sick days.

Copyright 2015 WNIJ Northern Public Radio

Brian Mackey covers Illinois state government and politics from the WUIS Statehouse bureau. He was previously A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. He can be reached at (217) 206-6020.
Brian Mackey
Brian Mackey formerly reported on state government and politics for NPR Illinois and a dozen other public radio stations across the state. Before that, he was A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.