* First of all, despite what you may be reading, the session beginning next Wednesday will not cost taxpayers $50,000 a day…

The median family income for a Freeport family is around $47,000 a year according to the 2010 U.S. Census. That compares to the U.S. median for a family of four at $50,006.

One day of special session for the Illinois General Assembly would cost Illinois’ beleaguered taxpayers $50,000.

Nonetheless, Gov. Pat Quinn this past week said he will call a special session this summer to address Illinois’ $31 billion statewide construction plan.

The governor will not actually be calling a “special session,” which would require that members receive their per diem checks. Per diem can’t be disbursed for regular session days after the end of May, and that’s what next week’s session will be. The two chamber leaders are calling their members back to town, so the taxpayers won’t be on the hook for that extra cost.

* Speaking of money, as I told you on Monday, the General Assembly has not yet passed a legislative furlough plan…

The Senate introduced a 12-day furlough plan, but never passed it. The House passed an identical proposal, but it’s still sitting in the Senate awaiting action.

Because this won’t be a special session, the General Assembly won’t be limited to what it can and cannot do. Members could take up that furlough plan, but there is opposition in the Senate. The media has completely ignored this failure to approve another furlough plan, so legislators may just ignore it.

* Now, onto the budget. The Senate Democrats were clearly hoping that Quinn would ally with them over their additional budgetary spending tacked onto the capital/road bill. As subscribers knew, the SDems also unveiled a plan a few days ago to extend the capital/road plan for just six months, so that the budget could be renegotiated in January. But Quinn wouldn’t go along with either plan…

“In his meeting with the legislative leaders, the governor was clear [in] his push for a 12-month capital budget with no conditions,” Matsoff said. “He also said that the leaders should come back in the fall when they could have discussions about reallocating some elements of the budget based on the Senate Democrats’ priorities — staying within the $33.2 billion” budget.

Yesterday’s meeting was a huge blow to the Senate Dems. They’re teleconferencing today to decide what to do. If they refuse to give in, we’re in for a nasty summer session.

* After some initial hesitation, the Republicans have decided that Quinn is right and that the state can’t fund construction projects after the end of the fiscal year and will have to start shutting down projects on Monday…

Cross says lawmakers are now on the fast-track to reach an agreement to keep the projects, which provide some 52,000 jobs, alive. He’s hesitantly setting aside his reservations about the governor’s claim that he can’t authorize spending beyond the end of the month to keep the projects running.

“The governor has a lot of authority in this arena and he’s taken the position he doesn’t have the authority, and I’ll take him at his word,” Cross said.

Agreeing with the governor simply puts more pressure on the recalcitrant Senate Democrats.

* Related…

* VIDEO: HGOP Leader Cross on capital, budget, etc.

* VIDEO: SGOP Leader Radogno on capital, budget, etc.