Happy Fiscal New Year!

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 1, 2009 2:40PM

That's right, Illinois, it's an exciting day as the new Fiscal Year has begun and- what? There's no budget but rather a huge budget hole? Between $7 billion and $9 billion? Shit. Didn't we just boot a corrupt as all Hell governor so that the state government could right this sinking ship? Well...crap.

A few names have changed but the results are the same: that state finds itself mired in a budget mess. Yes, Springfield is eating itself as assembly Dems battle Republicans and Governor Quinn battles both. And in the meantime, there's no real budget in place and as a result many social services are set to see massive cuts. During a speech in front of lawmakers yesterday, Quinn maintained that he's digging in his heels to get those tax raises he sees as a solution to the state's budget gap, saying, "I'm prepared to stay here all summer to get the job done. I think that's what the people want. That's why we're here -- to get the job done, whatever it takes." Members of Quinn's own party, though, including state house leader Mike Madigan, refused to give in and the deadline came and went without anything solved. Quinn allegedly proposed a one-month budget extension plan to buy more time, but leaders ultimately rejected the plan.

While this deadline has come and gone, another will quickly approach: July 15, when the next round of state worker paychecks are scheduled to go out. Of course, without a budget deal, there's no money and without money, there won't be paychecks. [Tribune, CBS 2]