By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – The state Senate’s so-called grand bargain of interconnected bills unveiled earlier this year as a way to end the long-standing budget impasse is set to now be separated, not interconnected.

Leaders unveiled the package of bills earlier this year. It includes income and corporate tax increases, an expansion of the state’s sales tax to include certain services and gambling expansion, as well as some pension, procurement, and workers’ compensation reforms, among other measures. If one bill failed, the package failed.

But just before the Senate adjourned Tuesday, various measures of the package were re-opened for possible passage. State Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said that’s because the bills are going to be decoupled.

“There are some people who have indicated that they don’t want to vote for bills that are all tied together, some people who would be willing to vote for a revenue package and then some people who under any circumstances aren’t willing to vote for any revenue package but may like some of the reform ideas that have been negotiating in the bipartisan fashion,” Hutchinson said. “So maybe that might help to get to passage of the individual pieces.”

State Sen. Pam Althoff, R-McHenry, said there was unease from the GOP on some of the proposed economic reforms being linked to tax increases, “like worker’s comp is still extraordinarily important to Republicans overall. We haven’t seen the final copy of that so that will make a little bit of a difference.”

Althoff said linking multiple tax increases with pension, procurement and other reforms was difficult to get everyone on board.

“Consensus with 177 people is important. When you’re dealing potentially with one piece of legislation, [it’s] a lot easier to build consensus,” she said

Althoff and Hutchinson expect the separate bills to be called for votes throughout the week.

The session ends May 31.