Jul 7, 2009 8:36 am US/Central
Gov. Quinn To Unveil State Budget Cuts Tuesday
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Gov. Pat Quinn takes his veto stamp to the budget plan submitted to him by Illinois lawmakers on July 1, 2009.
CBS
Gov. Pat Quinn plans to act on a list of
budget cuts as he tries to sway lawmakers to support an income tax increase to balance the state budget.
Quinn said Monday state agencies, offices and even the General Assembly would be hit by the
cuts he plans to detail Tuesday.
Quinn gave lawmakers a heads-up about the cuts when he met with more than three dozen suburban legislators at his office in the Thompson Center. It's the latest in a series of meetings Quinn is having with groups of lawmakers to try to break an impasse over the state budget.
He went into the meeting saying he hoped for "consensus," but no such thing was achieved.
Quinn is laying the groundwork before lawmakers return to Springfield next week to consider his veto of their stopgap budget.
The state is operating without a budget while officials continue to try to plug an $11.6 billion hole.
Quinn vetoed a proposed budget July 1, saying it failed to fulfill the state's obligations for human services.
The people of the state are entitled to "an honest budget," Quinn said. "That's a full budget, that's a balanced budget, and that's also a decent budget."
While Quinn still supports a tax hike to balance the budget, other lawmakers have come out in support of short-term borrowing, or have suggested that cuts could be made that would not affect vital state services.
State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) suggested Monday that lawmakers should start from scratch and put together a two-year budget.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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