By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, seems to be longing for the days when the legislative leaders would be locked into a room until they got a deal done.
Brady said lawmakers don’t seem have the same motivation to pass a budget. He told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin, court orders requiring certain constituencies be paid and budget bills lawmakers are trying to pass are undermining any attempt to pass a get a 12-month spending plan in place, even three months after the deadline.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Brady on WJBC.
“There aren’t pressure points of a date like under Gov. Blagojevich when we went through some of this,” Brady said. “That type of thing, unfortunately as it is, is what keeps people staying at the negotiating table. We don’t have that right now.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office told lawmakers that he plans to veto a nearly $4 billion spending bill awaiting a House vote. The bill would provide funds for breast cancer screenings, autism services, lottery payouts and more while lawmakers try to hash out a budget. It was passed earlier this month by the Senate and could see a vote in the House later this week.
Rauner Deputy Chief of Staff Rich Goldberg calls the measure a “piecemeal attempt” to pass an unbalanced budget. Democrats called the Senate Bill 2046 necessary legislation to make sure the state’s most vulnerable don’t get hurt while they try to find common ground with the Republican governor. Illinois has now gone almost 12 weeks without a budget.
As state lawmakers try to pass budget bills without a budget, Brady is wondering when will the state run out money.
“As the court keeps issuing orders to write checks, write checks, write checks, write checks, who’s tracking this?,” Brady asked.
Rauner’s administration has delayed laying off state workers that were targeted to be pink-slipped on Sept. 30 as several unions have sued the state, claiming a violation of labor contracts.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
