Lawmakers unable to pass budget
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS The Associated Press
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| Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn acknowledges support for his proposed income tax increase as Campaign for Illinois Future and other groups rally to urge legislators to pass an income tax increase at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday June 23, 2009. Officials said the rally drew thousands of people waving signs in support of services for women, children, senior citizens, disabled people and more. (AP photo) |
SPRINGFIELD – The sputtering drive to come up with a state budget broke down completely Tuesday, leaving Illinois to begin a new fiscal year without any plan for paying its employees or delivering government services.
Government won’t shut down without a budget in place, but the situation creates uncertainty for anyone who depends on state money: government workers, road crews, community agencies caring for the sick and needy, and more.
State Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Rochelle, called the day disheartening.
“This is kind of new territory for us, with the personalities involved and everything else, so it’s amazing,” Burzynski said. “It’s just unfortunate because you just feel sorry for the people whose lives are going to be affected.”
Gov. Pat Quinn lectured legislators Tuesday afternoon in an unusual speech to a joint session of the House and Senate. He urged legislators to act like adults and raise taxes, rather than slash key services, to help close the biggest budget deficit in Illinois history.
“If this General Assembly sends me a partial budget that decimates the social safety net of our state, I will veto that budget,” Quinn said in a hastily arranged speech lasting 10 minutes.
Lawmakers responded coolly.
Democrats accused the Democratic governor of rejecting reasonable compromises meant to keep budget talks going. Republicans complained of divisions within the Democratic majority. Rank-and-file lawmakers took offense at the governor’s tone.
“He was being Patrick Quinn – Patrick Quinn the great crusader,” said Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago. “We were just hoping he would demonstrate a little more leadership.”
State Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Hinckley, was blunt in his criticism of Quinn.
“It’s just real disappointing,” Pritchard said. “I like Gov. Quinn. He’s an ethical individual. But it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t know how to manage state government, and he hasn’t surrounded himself with people who do.”
Pritchard characterized the deadlock between Quinn and leadership in the House and Senate as a “civil war.”
“I really feel for the agencies,” Pritchard said, referring to organizations that provide social and human services. “There’s a civil war going on in Springfield on who’s in charge and who’s going to compromise. I think citizens should be outraged.”
The Legislature adjourned Tuesday night without any firm plans to return or even for the governor and legislative leaders to resume negotiations.
Underscoring what’s at stake, a federal judge ruled that a version of the state budget approved by lawmakers might interfere with court-ordered services delivered by the Department of Children and Family Services. U.S. District Judge John F. Grady ordered the agency to keep providing such services as psychiatric treatment and day care, no matter what budget eventually becomes law.
And at the state Capitol, eight people briefly blocked access to the House chamber in a call for lawmakers to raise taxes. The members of the Service Employees International Union work for local agencies that the state pays to provide care to children and the elderly, two programs facing the possibility of major budget cuts.
The protesters left willingly when approached by police officers, who escorted them to a basement room of the Capitol. They were released without charges.
State government’s old budget expired Tuesday at midnight. Officials have been unable to agree on how to fill a deficit estimated at $11.6 billion. The cause of the massive gap is a combination of rising costs, plummeting tax revenue and increased spending by state officials in recent years.
Federal funds and cost-cutting have reduced the deficit to $9.2 billion, Quinn says, and he has agreed to an additional $1 billion in budget cuts – including cutting 1,000 jobs at the Corrections Department and 1,600 jobs elsewhere in state government.
But there’s no agreement on what more to do.
The situation was so topsy-turvy that Quinn praised lawmakers in his speech for working on a borrowing plan to come up with $2.3 billion, then turned around a few hours later and helped block the plan, according to senators. His goal may have been to make it harder for lawmakers to argue they had reduced the deficit to a manageable level.
“It’s a strategy that can only leave you scratching your head,” said Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, D-Evanston.
“The governor does not have to do what he’s been threatening,” Pritchard said. “This is a made-up crisis by the governor. All he has to do is sign the bill on his desk.”
The governor wants to raise personal income taxes to 4.5 percent, up from 3 percent, to generate more than $4 billion. He says that’s the fairest way to balance the budget without gutting services.
Republican lawmakers, along with some Democrats, oppose raising taxes. They are demanding long-term changes in government health and retirement programs before even discussing taxes.
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, urged Quinn to sign the budget that lawmakers have approved, even though it falls billions of dollars short of covering a full year of government expenses. Cullerton argues that would give Quinn the ability to keep government running at normal levels while officials continue budget talks.
“The Republicans clearly need some more time to come around to vote for the tax increase,” Cullerton said.
Quinn rejected that idea, calling it the kind of budgeting that got Illinois into such a crisis.
“We must not put off decisions until later in the summer or the fall or next winter. That’s not what adults do,” he said.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said legislators have approved a budget that balances spending against the limited amount of money available. Now Quinn has “total discretion” over how to make do with that money, he said, refusing to comment on whether lawmakers failed to do their jobs by giving those decisions to Quinn.
More money isn’t likely to be found, Madigan added, until peoplesee the impact of budget cuts on important services and press lawmakers to raise taxes.
Even if talks continued for a month or two, it’s not clear what they would produce.
Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said she’s seeing no progress. She blamed the governor and Democratic legislative leaders.
“We are totally stuck,” Radogno said. “The governor continues to say the same thing. The speaker and the president continue to respond in the same manner as well. We’re not getting anywhere.”
• Associated Press Writer John O’Connor and Daily Chronicle Editor Kristen Schmidt contributed to this report.
