* I told subscribers about this letter earlier today…

A bipartisan group of 30 Illinois House members on Tuesday threw their support behind efforts in the Senate to craft a bill package aimed at ending the state’s historic budget impasse.

“We ask the senators from both parties to pass the best negotiated package they can, and then we will take up their work in the House,” the group said in a statement.

The package, which includes tax hikes, pension changes and a local property tax freeze, stalled in the Democratic-led Senate in March, when most Republicans withdrew their support.

John Patterson, a spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton, said on Tuesday both sides are “trading ideas in trying to find agreement.”

That’s a positive. House members have been mostly silent on the Senate’s work until now. But 17 Democrats and 13 Republicans signed on to this letter. An excerpt…

We believe a solution that can pass the House and Senate and be signed by the Governor needs to include a package of bills that fundamentally addresses the needs of the state, and most importantly provides a normal, full-year budget for our state agencies, schools, and social service providers.

Let’s be clear; we aren’t looking at a simple all or nothing vote on a package sent from the Senate. We understand that a package sent from the Senate will not be complete or perfect, and it will change. Our legislative process allows hearings and amendments from both chambers, and we think that’s the best way to negotiate a deal that serves our constituents and the state as a whole.

Keep in mind that the letter came out hours after Speaker Madigan appointed four of his top members to negotiate with Rauner. The rank-and-file signers don’t appear to want that, however. Instead, they want to take up the Senate’s package and go from there.

* Meanwhile, some rank-and-file House Republicans prefer to focus on process arguments…

According to State Representative David S. Olsen (R-Downers Grove), nothing is more important in Springfield right now than the adoption of a full and balanced budget. To that end, this week the freshman lawmaker signed on as a co-sponsor of three pieces of legislation that provide revenue estimates that can be used as the starting point for the creation of a full budget.

“The implementation of a budget is a multi-step process, and step one involves lawmakers coming to agreement on a revenue estimate,” said Olsen. “The Illinois Constitution is clear; the responsibility for crafting and adopting a budget rests solely with the General Assembly. That process begins with the approval of a revenue estimate that tells us how much money we have to spend.”

I happen to like Olsen, but it’s silly to say that this is the GA’s sole responsibility. Also, we won’t know what revenue levels to estimate until they agree on the taxes they’re going to raise.

* In related news, this is from a press release…

State Rep. Avery Bourne today released the following statement on school funding reform upon the House’s return to Springfield for the final month of the spring legislative session:

“For years, multiple legislative commissions and committees have studied the obvious inequities of Illinois’ school funding system. As it stands now, Illinois has the most inequitable school funding system in the nation. That means students are essentially forced to play a zip code lottery that will determine whether they learn in classrooms equipped with an iPad per student or one where students share decades old textbooks. This is a challenge we need to tackle as the legislature, and there is bipartisan agreement that it must happen soon. […]

“There have been countless hours spent in the last year around this bipartisan solution to our school funding problem. We cannot, however, take our eyes off of the goal. Our goal is a system that works for every student in this state. Getting this crucial reform passed is within sight. However, as often happens - this is when special deals are added or fairness is tossed out the window in exchange for what is politically expedient.

“When talking about state policies, I hear often from constituents that the money flows straight to Chicago while the rest of Illinois is forgotten about. We cannot let this happen again. The children of Illinois are too important. Understand though, I agree - the children of Chicago deserve a high quality education. Many of them are not afforded that opportunity under the current system. However, the children outside of Chicago, in central and southern Illinois deserve the opportunity to get a great education too.

The House Democrats have been working on a school funding reform bill, but haven’t yet convinced any Republicans to sign on. Gov. Rauner won’t go along with giving more money to Chicago’s schools without his pension reform deal, so this seems like a preemptive strike on Rauner’s behalf by Rep. Bourne.

*** UPDATE ***  Remember that these are Sen. Bill Brady’s proposals. The Senate Democrats have yet to sign off on them. Greg Hinz…

Brady calls the plan “five for five”: The core is $5 billion in tax increases for what Brady says are $5 billion in spending cuts. […]

On the other side of the ledger, total spending would be capped at roughly $36 billion for each of the next five years.

To get to that figure, Brady would trim $435 million a year from employee group health insurance, save $700 million a year via accounting changes in the state’s pension systems and save another $500 million a year on pensions by moving new workers to 401(k)-style defined contribution plans.

Higher education would get a 15 percent across-the-board reduction, and most other programs outside of grade and high school support a 5 percent cut. Local units of government also would see a reduction in the the cut of state income taxes they now receive.