Springfield, IL – Illinois is about to end its fiscal year. Yet it still does not have a new budget in place.
Governor Pat Quinn wants an income tax increase to help deal with the state's deficit, but it's unlikely that will happen.
Some say a budget that funds government one month at a time is the way to go in order to avoid a shutdown. Others are pushing a plan that would come up short of the amount Quinn has proposed.
On top of that, it's not known what the Governor will do with the spending bills when he gets them.
"Is he going to sign them? Is he going to sign them and say let's come back later? Is he going to veto it and say I want a tax increase?" wonders House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego). "We really don't know what he's going to do."
Governor Quinn won't show his hand. He has called a budget that cuts social services unacceptable.
Lawmakers are expected to send the Governor a budget on Tuesday June 30, but what it will look like is still unclear.
State government could keep operating for several days without a budget in place.
Construction Bill Finally Sent to Quinn
After being put on hold for more than a month, a $30 billion statewide infrastructure program will be going to Governor Pat Quinn's desk.
Lawmakers approved the public works plan in late May, but the governor said he wouldn't sign it until they also sent him an operating budget he could support.
That infuriated the chief sponsor, Representative Lou Lang (D-Skokie). Lang said Quinn had promised not to link the construction program to the budget.
In retaliation, Lang blocked the measure from going to the governor's desk and kept it under House control.
Lang is now letting the construction plan go forward, accompanied by a forceful message for Quinn.
"These bills need to be signed for the good of the state of Illinois," says Lang. "And while I support more revenue in the budget, it is unconscionable to withhold his signature on those bills."
Lang says the governor is still has not made a commitment to sign the infrastructure plan. But he says the state desperately needs the thousands of jobs the program would create.
Money for the capital bill would come through a legalization of video poker and a mix of tax increases.
Thanks to Illinois Public Radio