* Senate President John Cullerton called on the Senate Republicans to put their budget proposals into bill form soon, saying his side of the aisle was preparing to do just that in early May. Cullerton said the Senate appropriations committees will be considering amendments and invited the Republicans to offer their own proposals, digging at them a bit for holding press conferences about their budget cuts without introducing any actual legislation. Ironically enough, he said all this during a planned media availability.

“We’re going to go to the Reference Bureau, not the Blue room… and we’re going to vote on bills,” Cullerton said, adding, “I think they proposed cuts in education of something like $750 million. So, go to the Reference Bureau and get their amendment to cut the education budget by $750 million and let’s debate it.” Watch…

* Cullerton also said he was “surprised and disappointed” that Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno wants to sit down over the next two weeks “to meet on an agreed-upon budget.” He said he’d meet with her, but he called it an “odd request,” considering that the committees will be considering legislation to deal with the budget.

“We will offer our amendments, we’ll urge them to vote for it. If they don’t think that we’re cutting enough, they can introduce their own amendments and then we can take votes on cutting some more.” Watch….

Videos courtesy of BlueRoomStream.com.

*** UPDATE 1 - 2:31 pm *** Senate Republican Leader Radogno will respond to Cullerton’s remarks in a few minutes. I’ll let you know what happened.

*** UPDATE 2 - 3:33 pm *** Senate GOP Leader Radogno responded to Cullerton…

Radogno said she was wary about offering up her amendments because she figures the amendments would die in committee and there would be no floor votes on her members’ ideas.

[ *** End Of Updates *** ]

* Meanwhile, you probably already know that a Republican-backed worker’s compensation reform bill went down in defeat yesterday…

The Illinois Senate killed a bill late Thursday evening that would have dramatically overhauled the state’s workers’ compensation system – a system that all parties agree is rife with fraud and abuse. […]

[GOP Sen. Kyle McCarter’s] legislation, Senate Bill 1349, would have reduced the medical fee schedule for workers’ compensation procedures by 30 percent, given employers the right to choose an employee’s doctors and course of treatment for the first 60 days, adopted American Medical Association guidelines for determining impairment and required that the workplace be the primary cause of the injury – a principle known as causation.

Causation was the sticking point for Senate Republicans and the business community.

“If causation is not part of it (reform), it’s likely it will not be strong enough to make a difference,” Sen. David Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, said. […]

“I don’t want to pass a bill that will lead to more litigation, not less litigation – that’s not going to save anybody any money,” said Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago.

Most Democrats voted “Present.” The media take-aways is they did so to avoid being accused of voting against reform. Likely true, but it’s also a way to show that they’re not completely opposed to working with the Republicans. Sort of a legislative courtesy, I suppose you could say.

* More…

Among the stumbling blocks was disagreement over whether injured employees should be required to prove their injuries occurred at the workplace.

While GOP lawmakers argued it would crack down on fraud, Democrats said the clause would allow business owners to challenge claims and limit workers from collecting payments. […]

But Democrats and labor groups complained employees would lose the right to choose their own doctor. They said it also would prohibit many workers from receiving benefits.

Laborer’s International Union officials said the proposal would result in injured workers receiving less medical care and less money to live on while they recover.

Unions, trial lawyers and the docs were against it, so it went down. Not much of a surprise.

* Some audio from the debate…

Click to download

* Sen. Mike Jacobs was the only Democrat to vote for the bill. His explanation…

Click to download

…Adding… Greg Hinz has a new story up about a bill that I told subscribers of this morning…

Chicago-area officials say the bill could cost them hundreds of millions, and maybe billions, of dollars a year. But the measure involved, S.B. 2194, nonetheless passed its first test at midday Friday, clearing the Illinois Senate with three votes to spare and heading to an uncertain fate in the House.

Technically, all the bill, sponsored by Sens. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, and Dan Kotowski, D-Park Ridge, would do is force the Illinois Department of Revenue to collect sales taxes based on one and only one factor: the location at which the item is purchased.

But local officials including Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin and, reportedly, Mayor Richard M. Daley are telling lawmakers that the bill would do far more, threatening their ability to provide services.

For instance, according to an analysis circulated by the Regional Transportation Authority, the bill would allow most any firm to set up a satellite office in a low- or no-tax county, and route all its orders there via computer, even if the item is delivered and used in a higher-tax area, like Chicago or Cook County.

* Related…

* Naperville leaders pleased with workers’ comp reform efforts

* Illinois Jobless Rate Drops To 8.8 Percent

* Senate Republicans unveil jobs proposals

* VIDEO: CapitolView 04/15/11