Blago Slashes $1.4 Billion From the Budget

By Kevin Robinson in News on Jul 10, 2008 3:35PM

The governor vetoed $1.4 billion from the state budget on Wednesday, as lawmakers returned to Springfield at his request to tackle the budget shortfall. The cuts include $210 million for social services, $100 million for education and $600 million for health care, and the rest is expected to come from state reserves and belt-tightening measures. Money for health care, education, social service programs and public transportation has been cut, meaning that case loads will increase, waits for health care payments will get longer, and public services, like education and public transit, will be impacted.

"Governor, we're here for two days. We're not done yet," Republican Rep. Bill Black of Danville shouted from the House floor. Blago blamed House Speaker Mike Madigan for the cuts, saying that the House hadn't agreed to fund raising ideas approved by the Senate. Chief House budget negotiator Democratic Rep. Gary Hannig said that legislators now have 15 days to act on the cuts. But the Hose spent most of yesterday holding a hearing on Blagojevich's $35 billion capital spending program.

Blagojevich at the St. Patrick's Day parade by Julius Lim