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The House will pass its own budget tonight.

$290M more for schools

$801M in net approp growth
$300M from loophole closings from SB1544

UPDATE: Add $84M to schools for categoricals.

Also, word is that Sen. Pres. Jones may run the 3 year rate freeze to the guv’s desk so that Downstaters will vote for the budget.

It’s looking like the Senate might (or not) run this low growth budget to keep the gvt running. The governor is then likely to call us into special session to deal with things like health care and education funding.

Also, HDems voted in caucus on Lang’s gaming bill but it came up way short of what they’ll need to pass it.

More later.

UPDATE 2: 4:25pm It looks like HB1500 (to get AT&T into cable) has Madigan’s OK and may be moving soon.

Also, one reason for MJM moving a budget tonight is that the guv has been prodding him publicly to come up with a plan.

And those of you who think this is the final budgetary word ought to think again.

By the way that “growth” listed above is net appropriations growth.

UPDATE 3: The House budget will be SB 1132 House amenment 1

UPDATE 4: 10:16PM… The debate has begun. Republicans are complaining that the bill didn’t pass thru the proper hoops. .

UPDATE 5: By the way, the HDems tacked the budget onto the supplemental bill, which is worth $1.2 Billion in federal funds to hospitals over the next two years.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 3:49 pm

Comments

Who gets the $801M in growth? Rod and Emil?
Those numbers are far short of the billions and billions Rod said we needed.
Good for the House!

Comment by What no overtime? Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 3:54 pm
Does that mean construction dollars???

Comment by WHAT??? Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 3:56 pm
Why even bother? It will be rendered mute because it differs from what the Senate Dems and Gov. Blagojevich have proposed. Because it will be rendered mute, Rod will call a special session, which should make for some good drama at the Capitol this summer.

Comment by Same Old, Same Old Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 3:57 pm
Budget cuts are a coming!

Comment by The Big Bounce Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:01 pm
this is another last minute ploy by the “speaker” and frankly I am fed up with him and the house dems.
As a property owner in cook county I urge the house to get rid of this “speaker” because he only is concerned about his distrcit and not speaking for the whole state. This is a last minute pr move because everyone will blame him for not coming to the table sooner. I thought the title of speaker and party head meant he was supposed to lead. Cut out the games and lock him in a room with “President Jones” and the governor and come up with a real budget. THE PEOPLE OF ILLINOIS DESERVE IT!!!!!

Comment by fedup Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:03 pm
Oh my gosh - Emil and Rod are just gonna have a hissy fit! So, there it is, the Speakers Budget and Funding Plan. Well GOOD, now that’s settled. We can all go home.

Comment by A Citizen Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:05 pm
Is this why the house was not in regular session today when they were supposed to start at 10am?

Comment by WHAT??? Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:07 pm
Okay so the House came up with its own budget that’s different from the governors? Question is what’s in the thing.

Comment by Crimefighter Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:07 pm
it’s”moot” not “mute”—i understand thinking is hard but using correct vocabulary is easier.

Comment by publius Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:09 pm
As soon as I read this update I started singing to myself that old Nazareth song “Hair of the Dog.” LOL

Comment by Beerman Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:09 pm
Hurray for Madigan and Cross!

Comment by Leigh Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:13 pm
Nothing for Blago’s health care eh?

Comment by Levois Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:14 pm
leigh, this isn’t Cross! There’s no construction money here. That’s what they were holding out for. GEEZ!!!!!!

Comment by WHAT??? Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:17 pm
I wonder, after the House passes their Budget will Madagin adjourn and send everyone home? Can’t imagine a need to stay in Springfield since he got the job done AND a day early. Now that’s efficiency, Mike sure runs a tight ship over there.

Comment by A Citizen Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:17 pm
The House was not in session at 10:00 am because a fire alarm resulted in the evacuation of the entire capitol. After the alarm was cleared members went back to committee meetings. As I recall the alarm set back the 10:00 am start of session by about an hour.

Comment by Anon Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:18 pm
A rate freeze for all customers, or just Downstaters?

Comment by Mr. CUB Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:19 pm
Mr. Cub, you can’t be serious. We all use electricity.

Comment by WHAT??? Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:22 pm
What! No monies in there for Milo’s legal fees?
Milo doesn’t wear the pants in Chicago or Springfield. Spanked again!

Comment by To Funny Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:25 pm
- publius - in Rod’s case it’s “mute” other than for his world class PR machine.

Comment by A Citizen Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:25 pm
Growth? What does that exactly mean? More money for Patti’s wildflowers?

Details would be nice.

Comment by Papa Legba Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:33 pm
A. Citizen-Leave Bill out of this!

This is a relief for me.

Now I don’t have to go wearing my “Stop HB750! It’s a spending problem, not a funding problem!” Tee Shirt down in Springfield until the summer session.

Comment by PalosParkBob Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:42 pm
Any word on transit? Is RTA getting anything?

Or is Springfield going to tell Chicago to go hell?

Comment by Jerry Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:44 pm
If the RTA would simply extend its service to Springfield then they could get more money. It could justify the expansion just based on running the guvs staff back and forth from Chicago to the Cap. and return. A real Win Win solution!

Comment by A Citizen Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:49 pm
A Citizen, the guv’s staff would never go slummin on a train! Please only the private plane will do.

Comment by Leigh Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:51 pm
PPB . . . A. Citizen-Leave Bill out of this! . . . I didn’t bring Bill into this. ??? Although he’s certainly welcome. With Speaker Mike’s budget the guv has a REAL opportunity to demonstrate his management skills by living within the budget. I look forward to that.

Comment by A Citizen Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:55 pm
So if the Senate buys into this, does that mean Blago will call everyone into special session for the purpose of raising taxes on the working people of Illinois?

Comment by Bluefish Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 4:58 pm
The Governor is opposed to raising taxes on working families, i.e. sales and income taxes. He made a promise to the people of Illinois and the Governor always keeps his word.

Comment by Bill Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:05 pm
hold on folks….last time I checked, capital development was run as a separate bill. And since bonding requires a super-majority anyway, there’s no clock on it’s passage.

fedup — “Blame Madigan for not coming to the table sooner”? Gimme a frickin’ break. Until 11:59 p.m. on the budget clock, there was no frickin’ table. It was Emil Blagojevich’s “My way or the highway” attitude that got us to this point.

“Hey Rod, want to put together a $7.5 billion package of new spending without sitting down with the Speaker first? Fine. You have your budget, we have ours. Call us when you’re really ready to negotiate.”

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:06 pm
M talks; B walks.

Comment by i d Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:27 pm
Rich,
Please buy Bill a gift. He is your JR Ewing and is great at it.

Comment by nino brown Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:30 pm
It seems a safe bet that no one who posts here is under $80K and without health insurance.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:32 pm
Well, we have some sanity in Illinois after all. Speaker Madigan reigned with a sembelence of order in rejecting expanded gambling that would suck more of the soul out of Illinois. We can all sleep easier tonight knowing that Chicago will remain devoid of a shyster palace!

Doug Dobmeyer

Comment by Doug Dobmeyer Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:33 pm
Yellow Dog, or should I say, Madigan hack… the Speaker will stand in the way of progress for the next three years to set the stage for Lisa. Why would he want to give the gov any accomplishments to tout when he’ll be running against his own daughter?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:34 pm
yellow dog say what you will about the governor and emil but at least they had a plan, maybe the speaker should survey his member whether he should remain speaker after his utter lack of leadership. Tell the speaker to get over himself and sit down and pass a real budget.

Comment by fedup Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:35 pm
Rod brought this crisis upon himself.

MJM will pass a budget before the Senate does…

who is slowing up the process again?

I have checked all day and have not seen a Senate budget, or even an amendment filed that would be a budget. Of course, Rod had no budget so Emil didn’t know what to do.

So, once more: the House will have passed a budget by the end of the evening, and Rod will still not have a proposal contained in a bill.

Emil failed to lead, and Rod simply failed. Once more, Madigan actually leads while the other two complain.

Comment by someone Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:43 pm
huh? if the madigan stands “in the way of progress for the next three years,” that certainly doesn’t help lisa’s chances any. if she runs for governor and her father is still speaker, we will hear all kinds of cries about conflicts of interest, a worrisome concentration of power, etc, not to speak of the daddy dilemma. madigan’s (pick one) no idiot.

the lack of leadership charge cuts both ways. and i certainly don’t know if this is a “real budget” or not. do you? i’ve gotten the exec summary; i’ll hold out for the details before jumping to conclusions…

Comment by bored now Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 5:46 pm
Wasn’t this the plan the whole time?

Get the budget basics done before the deadline and then do the big stuff over the summer?

Nothing is off the table right now, it seems.

You’ve still got a capital plan to do, you’ve still got a governor who wants his priorities, and a senate president who wants his.

This seems to simply continue to keep the republicans away from the table for the time being.

Comment by hmmmm Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 6:13 pm
Bill - yet again you tout that Milarod keeps his word. What about “no more business as usual”; “I will not balance the budget on the backs of the working people of Illinois”; and then the ethics requirements that everyone takes apparently, EXCEPT the governor and his staff and chronies. You are delusional

Comment by Disgusted Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 6:18 pm
“The Governor is opposed to raising taxes on working families, i.e. sales and income taxes.”

The GRT will raise the taxes paid by the citizens of Illinois, the only difference between it and the income or sales taxes, is that they will be paying it indirectly through higher prices.

Comment by RMW Stanford Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 6:21 pm
Let’s look at the session record, shall we? SB 1, the GRT so critical to the governor’s program–$8 billion…sitting on third reading since May 9 with amendment 1 containing all the GRT language…not called for the vote. SB 5 the coveted “Illinois Covered” program…sitting on third reading since May 9 with amendment 1 containing all the “Illiois Covered” language…not called for a vote. The Governor’s budget proposal introduced on March 7 never put into any amendment…never put to a vote in a committee or on the Senate floor.

The governor and Emil have had months to move his programs over to the House and put the pressure on the House Democrats…nothing done.

…and it’s Speaker Madigan’s fault? Priceless.

Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 6:32 pm
Can’t the gov understand that if people are paying higher prices because of GRT they are also paying more sales taxes?

You don’t have to be a “rocket scientist” (Sorry Mayor Daley) to figure that out.

Comment by Anon Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 6:36 pm
Is there any money dedicated to capital construction in the House budget?

Comment by values matter Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 6:46 pm
Hey someone,
Check out SB1 thru 5.

Comment by Bill Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 7:17 pm
madigan is not standing in the way of progrees he is standing in the way of a unneccasary huge tax increase. Cut the fat(like Emils family) from the budget. Maybe The Rev Senator Meeks could get more money for the public schools if Chicago state wasnt spending state money on cruises and bar bills not to mention the tens of thousands of dollars they just didnt bother accounting for.

Comment by the real fed up Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 7:23 pm
Okay, Bill. According to the GA website, all remain in the Senate…none have been voted on. So?

Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 7:49 pm
Anonymous: I post here occasionally, but I make well under $80,000 a year, and I was without health insurance for two years, until recently. My daughter had All Kids/Medicaid, and it was like pulling teeth (pardon the pun) to find a doctor or dentist that would take her. So I am no fan of Blago’s health care plan. It does no good to the poor and uninsured to create a grand new health care plan and then not pay for it.

Comment by Lainer Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 7:50 pm
Hey, Hey,
$300 million in corporate loopholes. The capitol smells like steamed lobster.

Comment by Bill Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 7:54 pm
Hey Bill: where is the floor vote on SB 1-5????

Comment by Minion Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 8:19 pm
Hey, hey, Bill.
What about $300 mill in corporate loopholes?

And what about SB 1 through 5? SB 5 is a cute little bill, with a cute little tax. When are the returns due? When does the employer pay the tax and to whom? Details, details.

Comment by Me Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 8:33 pm
Anyone with an update from Springfield?

Comment by Tim Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 8:51 pm
Senate is still in committees and the House Republicans are in caucus until 9:30 PM

Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 8:56 pm
Bill, that’s not steamed lobster, that was Rod having a temper tantrum….

Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 9:00 pm
Emil Jones might be the power behind wasteful spending at Chicago state but dont forget Higher education Chairman ED Maloney got a masters degree from Chicago State. No wonder the state tax payers are paying for cruises and bar bills for Chicago State admin. This money could be better spent on teaching kids to read and math But Maloneys an alumn and the administration at Chicago State needs another drink. Way to look out for education Ed.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 9:25 pm
House budget bill shorts state pensions again. This is basicly a theft. state tax payers are going to get a huge tax increase and it wont bring health care or better education it will be needed to cover the pensions that have not been fully funded since blago came into office. They were not that well funded before he was in office either but he came in with promises to the unions to fix it. But we all know blagos word is worth nothing just ask race baiter meeks

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 9:32 pm
I know it looks like it, but at this point I believe it really doesn’t short the pensions.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 9:36 pm
TeeHee
Anyone notice neither the gov or sen. have a budget bill?
We have really fooled them

Comment by Manw/thePlan Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 9:41 pm
Does anyone here have any opinion on whether the Senate is going to be able (or even attempt) to reconcile this bill by tomorrow at midnight? I can’t believe this thing has any chance of being passed in its current form as it looks to be little more than a maintenance budget. Any ideas?

Comment by NRA Endowment Life Member Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 9:41 pm
More importantly, if by some miracle this passes both the House and Senate in it’s current form, does Blago sign or veto it? There isn’t much here for GRod to hang his hat on.

Comment by NRA Endowment Life Member Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 9:44 pm
I am still waiting for that feeling of pride to well up in my chest, hmmmm, maybe tomorrow.

Comment by A Citizen Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 9:44 pm
I see no conflict of interest if Madigan’s daughter becomes governor. Madigan, the father, may be arrogant but he his definitely not a crook. As for the daughter, I think she has done more for the taxpayers in the AG’s office than all her predeccessors combined. The bottom line is Blago is a crook, and needs to go. Maybe I’ll just vote Republican next time!

Comment by anon Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 10:16 pm
I used to hate MJM. Now I love the guy. He is the lone voice of reason out of the new Illinois version of the Three Stooges.

Our state budget is bloated enough as it is. When you compound federal funds and specific aid with the state budget, we are bursting at the seems. Even Bill can’t deny that our budget has outgrown itself and that we can’t continue down our financial path.

Closing loopholes is a much better alternative to a tax “swap” and the GRT. If the companies affected by this don’t feel the need to pass along any added costs, this plan is better for the state, the people and the businesses.

Comment by Team Sleep Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 10:43 pm
Senate quits for the nite with no major action. House GOP yelling alot. Budget not balanced, bill being addressed in a non-kosher fashion. Rep Black…….shhhhh

Comment by Cap Reporter Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 11:03 pm
Whaaaat?. . . bill being addressed in a non-kosher fashion . . . Does Emil know anything other than cheap parliamentary tricks? He is such a total embarassment! Hellooooo August!

Comment by A Citizen Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 11:19 pm
zzzzzzzzzz

Comment by JEESH Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 11:27 pm
Just passed 63-53

Comment by Anon Wednesday, May 30, 07 @ 11:32 pm
It appears not many take the time to actually look into the details of the budget bills (and I say “bills” since they passed the supplemental approp. bill as well).

There is both capital project money… both re-approp and new capital (you can do capital without bonding), and a mechanism in place to provide that the pensions will be fully funded at the appropriate/certified levels for FY08.

Comment by unclesam Thursday, May 31, 07 @ 12:21 am
Let’s just open up this debate: Frank Watson - Hottest Leader!! Yum

Comment by Concerned Parents Thursday, May 31, 07 @ 3:09 am
Seriously, yum!

Comment by Concerned Parents Thursday, May 31, 07 @ 3:30 am
Anon @ 4:18 The fire alarm did not go off till after 11:00. so how is it that the alarm stopped the Swiss watch like timing of the beginning of the house session at 10:00? Must be G-Rods fault but please humor me with the story.

Comment by lincolnlandbubba Thursday, May 31, 07 @ 6:47 am
Anon @ 4:18 The fire alarm did not go off till after 11:00.

It does not really matter when the alarm sounded. The House and Senate cannot begin their session until all of their committees have adjorned or recessed. One committee still in session delays calling the chamber to order and taking a roll call.

Comment by Anon Thursday, May 31, 07 @ 7:00 am
I’m sick of taxation without representation. Reading the comments - there’s no concern about Illinois going bankrupt - it’s only about their own power provided by special interest groups or their party. Integrity and accountability mean nothing. You all are despicable.

Comment by Disgusted Citizen Thursday, May 31, 07 @ 7:18 am
Disgusted -

New to the state?

Comment by Name/Nickname/Anon Thursday, May 31, 07 @ 7:28 am