Jul 24, 2007 11:36 pm US/Central
State Budget Stalemate To Set Springfield Record
Blagojevich Says He Is Proud A Sub-Par Budget Has Not Passed
by Mike Flannery
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Legislators have been wrangling over a budget in an overtime session at the State Capitol in Springfield.
The state budget battle continues in Springfield and at the stroke of midnight Tuesday, the budget delay will hit a record for the State of Illinois.
As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports from the state capitol, the record budget stalemate has a very real chance of leading to a government shutdown in a matter of days.
The state's temporary spending authority expires exactly one week from Tuesday night. Then come the payless paydays for some state workers and likely layoffs for other public employees, including teachers and transit workers.
Though agreement on a state spending plan seems nowhere in sight, Governor Rod Blagojevich told CBS 2 he's optimistic that important government agencies will not shut down.
"I'll stay here as long as it takes to get a budget that, again, funds our schools at record levels, expands health care and does not raise taxes on Illinois by an income tax or sales tax increase," he said.
The State House and Senate both met briefly and then adjourned without taking any public notice of the fact that they were guaranteeing that Illinois would break the record set in 2004 of 55 days without a budget.
Some members of the General Assembly said they are embarrassed that tens of thousands of public employees are facing possibly payless paydays -- or even layoffs -- because of the record-breaking budget stalemate.
"It means I'm involved in a record that I'm not proud of," said State Sen. Michael Jacobs (D-East Moline). "The fact is we didn't finish our business in time."
The governor, though, told CBS 2 the only thing worse than this record in futility would be a bad budget.
"We're going to break a record in terms of having the longest overtime session here in Illinois and I take pride in that because I'm not interested in settling for any old budget that doesn't do anything for people," Blagojevich sad. "Whether we finish tomorrow, next week or next month or however long, at the end of the day it's what we do for people that matters."
The governor had scorn for general assembly Democrats who have speculated that Blagojevich might eventually go along with the income tax increase being punished by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
"I'll veto anything that they pass along those lines, and if they were to somehow override a veto, I'd keep them in special session to undo that," Blagojevich said.
The governor insisted that there would be no final adjournment until the general assembly approved his billion-dollar plan to provide broader access to health care.
Sen. Mike Jacobs has been seen as a critical swing vote on the issue. For now, he is a "no" vote.
"I think we have a problem," Jacobs said. "But it's a national problem. And the governor needs to understand that, and I'm hoping and praying that at some point the governor comes to his senses."
Illinois is working right now on a temporary state budget that expires at midnight on July 31. At that point, payless paydays loom for state employees.
The word is in the Capitol that Speaker Madigan is working on a fairly lean budget and that he may go for a vote in the House. Senate President Emil Jones is said to be working on a budget that includes lots of new revenues, and he may run that budget in the Senate. There is no prospect of compromise yet in the offing.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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