* 9:45 am - The House is currently debating House Resolution 25, which “Urges the support of the electorate on the question of whether a Constitutional Convention should be called and encourages the electorate’s attention to this initiative.”

Listen or watch it here.

* 10:06 am - The resolution was adopted.

* 10:30 am Bagels in Skip’s office for C’s birthday.

* 12:22 pm - The Senate just announced that when they adjourn today they won’t reconvene until next Thursday.

* 1:15 pm - The Senate has adjourned. The leaders meeting actually started a little ahead of time today.

* 1:21 pm - While you’re waiting for the leaders meeting to wrap up, check out this Illinois Channel video of the House vs. Senate softball game. It’s very good…

* 1:43 pm - Daley speaks again…

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is again urging lawmakers to reach a compromise in their budget impasse in Springfield.

Daley said the situation at the Capitol was a “War of the Roses.” That’s a phrase often used to describe feuding couples in a contentious divorce.

He also compared the situation to a boxing match where opponents have staked out different corners. Daley said he wants them to come into the ring and work out a deal.

* 2:51 pm - LOL. From the comments…

Huh. Here I thought the “War of the Roses” referred to the English civil war between different factions of the same family.

Leave it to the press to mess up on the rare occasion when Daley makes an apt cultural comparison.

* 3:10 pm - It should be interesting to see how they’ll spin this when the leaders meeting ends…

Illinois lawmakers left the state Capitol today despite the governor’s call for them to spend at least five days a week working on a new budget.

The House adjourned until Tuesday. The Senate went home for a full week — until next Thursday.

The Senate’s adjournment came as a surprise. President Emil Jones had recently said the Senate would be in session every day. […]

Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson says it’s a waste of time for rank & file lawmakers to spend every day in Springfield when they have work to do in their districts.

* 3:18 pm - A theory from a reporter friend, who thinks the weeklong adjournment may be about making sure Jones’ members get paid…

Emil’s adjournment until Thursday strikes me as a setup for Blago calling everybody into special session and back on the per diem gravy train.

Madigan outmanuvered Blago when he responded to the call for lawmakers to work harder by creating a 5-day workweek. Now the ball is in Emil’s court to come up with a way to pay people. My guess is this is something that Emil and Blago came up with together.

* 3:53 pm - This is probably a better explanation for the adjournment. As mentioned by a couple of commenters, the Council of State Governments’ annual spring meeting is next week in Puerto Rico.

* 3:59 pm - The meetings are over and we’re processing the audio.

* 4:01 pm - Deputy Governor Sheila Nix claimed that the Speaker’s budget plan has a self-admitted $800 million hole.

Nix also said that Speaker Madigan doesn’t support an operational subsidy for the CTA.

She added that the governor and Sen. Jones would like a better deal for Cook County property taxpayers than the “7 percent solution” version passed by the House.

There will be a leaders meeting at the beginning of the week, according to Nix.

Nix audio…

[audio:nix6_7.mp3 ]

* 4:09 pm - Speaker Michael Madigan pointed out that the 7 percent bill passed the House overwhelmingly and just flew out of a Senate committee unanimously. He aimed a couple of digs at Assessor Houlihan.

“The governor didn’t indicate his availability” for leaders meetings. “You might want to check the plane schedules.”

Downstate Democrats want to connect electric rates to budget negotiations, not him, Madigan said.

The governor suggested “closing corporate loopholes or the gross receipts tax” for CTA funding, the Speaker claimed.

Madigan audio…

[audio:mjm6_7.mp3]

* 4:15 pm - Senate President Emil Jones repeated his claim that Madigan’s budget is not balanced and isn’t sufficient to satisfy the “needs” of education or health care. But, he said he would support anything that will keep government running and avoid a shutdown.

Jones said that the Senate had passed a 7 percent solution bill twice, but complained that the House had watered it down. Trouble for that bill.

What will you do between now and Thursday? “Rest,” Jones said.

House Bill 1 “doesn’t go far enough,” he said. That’s the House-approved ethics bill which newspaper editorial boards have been calling on Jones to pass.

There’s no guarantee that a sales tax for mass transit could pass the Senate, he said, because of the serious problems with the RTA administration. He wants money redistributed towards the CTA.

Jones audio…

[audio:ejones6_7.mp3]

* 4:20 pm - OK, that’s probably it for me. A few of us are taking Paul out for his birthday dinner and then heading to Two Brothers for that infamous birthday drink of theirs. If you want to stop by, feel free.