Still No State Budget

By Marcus Gilmer in News on May 10, 2010 9:40PM

Oh, by the way, the state legislature adjourned over the weekend without a final state budget passed. With Gov. Quinn wanting that income tax increase and a $13 billion hole to fill, there's still work to be done, especially for Dems who have until May 31 to pass any budget. After that day, the legislature will require a super-majority (i.e., Republican support) to pass the budget. So when will the legislature reconvene?

“It’s going to be before June 1, I can tell you that much,” Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said when asked when he expects lawmakers to return.

“I talked to (Madigan) in general about the fact that he doesn’t have the necessary votes to pass the bills that we have passed here,” Cullerton said. “Every once in a while, this happens at the end of the year, where people feel like they need some extra items in the budget.”

Last weekend's deadline was self-imposed; the current budget expires on June 30th, but Gov. Quinn seemed confident that the budget would be all worked out by then: “We’re pretty close. I think it’s healthy to have a robust debate and discussion this month on the budget, and ultimately there’ll be a vote, certainly before the end of the month.” The Senate passed a borrow-heavy budget before the adjournment but it reached a stalemate in the House. Before the adjournment, House Speaker Mike Madigan informed reps, "Our business is not finished. When we are prepared to finish our business, we'll come back to Springfield for one or two days, hopefully no more."