By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network
Illinois is now the only state in the country without a budget.
When Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday he wouldn’t veto the Republican-controlled General Assembly’s budget, Illinois became the last of the 50 statesstill facing a budget impasse for the current fiscal year.
Wolf said he won’t sign the Pennsylvania bill because the legislation underfunds important services and is unbalanced, but he also won’t veto it. Instead, he will let the bill become law by not acting on it.
Pennsylvania House Republicans are applauding Wolf’s inaction on the bills, saying it’s long overdue. Republicans in the Senate are happy to move on to their fiscal 2016 budget, which has a projected $2 billion deficit.
Illinois, with its projected $9 billion annual deficit, has not had a budget since July when the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner failed to reach agreement on reforms aimed at making the state more business-friendly and financially stable.
Democrats maintain that Rauner’s reforms weaken the middle class and government unions, a key source of campaign funds for Democrats statewide.
