Politics

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ― Gov. Pat Quinn struck a spending plan prepared by state lawmakers with a veto stamp Wednesday afternoon, a day after the fiscal year ended and the State of Illinois was officially left without a budget.

He said the "50 percent" budget failed to fulfill the state's requirements for human services.

"I had no choice with respect to the Senate Bill 1197 that I just vetoed," Quinn said after vetoing the budget plan. "It seems to me that it is very important for the people of Illinois to know that we will not relax in our battle to have a balanced budget for the Land of Lincoln."

People of the state are entitled to "an honest budget," Quinn added. "That's a full budget, that's a balanced budget, and that's also a decent budget."

Thousands of people are working for the state today, but there's no guarantee they'll get paid since there is still no budget in place. The concern is that the money will soon run out. A partial plan was not good enough for Gov. Pat Quinn.

CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports on what it means for thousands of state workers.

Cecil Funk reported for work, as usual, at the Illinois State Archives Wednesday. He said he and tens of thousands of other state employees are upset about the lack of a state budget.

"We're the ones that make the state run," Funk said. "If it wasn't for the employees to make the state run, we'd have a mess."

"Yes, it is, because you just never know from day to day if you're going to have a job or what's going to happen," another state employee said.

Gov. Quinn sent all state employees an e-mail over night. He said he expects they will be paid for their work during this time and that their benefits, including health insurance will be continued. Then, the governor on Wednesday took action on a big chunk of the state budget.

"This is a veto stamp," Quinn said. "This is a fight worth fighting for. I am philosophically opposed to trying to balance the budget on this one area of human service in Illinois."

He said the budget failed to fulfill the basic needs of the people of Illinois, and also created a "serious legal issue," in that "the budget seeks to prevent our state from having any professional or artistic contracts."

Not only does such a move "run afoul of our Illinois constitution," Quinn said, but it would mean that the state would be barred from contracting with nurses, prison guards, child psychologists and fingerprinters.

In court rooms across Illinois, a small army of lawyers and judges are also debating the budget crisis. In years past, courts have ordered that vital state services must continue, budget or no budget.

But hundreds of social service agencies are already moving to lay off thousands of workers. They provide help to drug and alcohol addicts, the mentally ill and many others.

"They're closing facilities," said Frank Anselmo, spokesman for community counseling agencies. "They are referring clients to emergency rooms. They've laid off staff."

Quinn emphasized that he planned for a "year of reform" when it comes to the state's finances.

"In previous years, there may have been efforts to sweep things under the rug; to overestimate revenues and underestimate expenses, and have budgets that are seriously out of balance," Quinn said. "But I think it's important this year, 2009, we set the marker down that the people of Illinois are entitled to an honest budget."

Work on the budget is set to resume on the budget on July 14, the day before state checks would likely start bouncing. House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) called a special legislative session for that day.

The purpose of the session is to consider overriding Quinn's budget veto. But it is also possible that Quinn could call legislators back into session before July 14.

If there is no budget by July 15, there will not be money to issue paychecks to state workers without some kind of budget deal.

The governor continued to press for an income tax increase Wednesday, but there's no sign that he has the votes needed to pass it in the General Assembly.

CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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