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Where are we now?

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Illinois

* Amanda Vinicky…

Friday’s vote (on an amendment to Senate Bill 6) served as a test, gauging whether Republicans would join with Democrats, who control the General Assembly, to approve a budget.

Twenty-three of the chamber’s 51 GOP representatives did.

“Now is the time to bring this nightmare to an end. Now is the time to stop quarreling and to start governing,” Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, said, prompting applause from Democrats.

While that falls short of the 30 Republican votes that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan recently said will be required to successfully pass the tax increase, and generate the necessary revenue to pay for that spending, the vote shows a path toward compromise.

Seventy-one votes are required for passage; Democrats hold just three seats short of that threshold in the House.

I see it as a positive that Madigan went ahead with the negotiations even though they HGOPs fell shy of 30 votes. If 23 was enough, so be it.

* Team Tribune…

For the first time since Rauner took office, no authority exists to pay contracts for roadwork, prompting warnings of layoffs of up to 25,000 workers at the height of construction season. Illinois already has been kicked out of the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions lottery games. And a federal judge on Friday compelled the state to start paying more Medicaid bills each month. That’s money Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza has said the state doesn’t have.

Continuation of the stalemate rattled elementary and high schools, some of which have just a few months’ worth of cash on hand. It also could cause some public universities to lose their accreditation — and the ability to accept federal money that comes with it.

Lawmakers on both sides spent the end-of-June special session publicly lamenting the destruction that already had been caused by the historic stalemate and declaring it time to bring the impasse to an end. […]

Unlike when the impasse began two years ago, the state is now weighed down by $15 billion in unpaid bills, and according to the comptroller, no longer has the cash flow to keep spending so far beyond its means. By August, the state’s obligations to make payments required under law or court order will run into the red, Mendoza warned, saying the result would be “either horrific financial consequences or catastrophic financial consequences.”

It goes without saying that the stakes are extremely high.

* Finke…

Significant issues remain, not the least of which is the more than $5 billion in tax hikes needed to make the spending bill balance. Madigan said negotiations continue.

The latest tax hike plan proposed by Democrats calls for raising the personal income tax rate from the current 3 percent to 4.95 percent, just below the level it was during the temporary income tax increase that expired in 2015. Still unresolved is whether the income tax increase will be permanent or limited to four years as Gov. Bruce Rauner wants.

The House Democrats’ plan does not include a tax on some services nor does it tax satellite television services. Both of those were part of a bill approved earlier by the Senate.

Agreements must also be struck on workers’ compensation, property tax relief and pension reform, all measures Rauner said need to be approved before he’ll entertain talk of higher taxes. Republicans have complained that previous Democratic proposals to address property tax relief and workers’ comp were watered down and did not really address the issues.

* O’Connor…

But the desire for settlement was palpable. Democrats and Republicans urged endorsement of the spending plan for different reasons.

Democratic Rep. La Shawn Ford of Chicago believes the state should spend more on social services, but he suggested Rauner “take this as a victory in driving down spending in the state of Illinois.”

Few places in Illinois have been hit harder by the financial mess than the capital city, where state bills owed to the city, hospitals and other vendors have topped $300 million, said Springfield Republican Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez.

“Almost everyone in my district has been touched by this crisis, and many have lost sleep, including me,” Wojcicki Jimenez said. “I’ve not been able to go to church, drop off my kids at school, go to the grocery store, eat out, without friends, neighbors, people I don’t even know, urging me to pass a balanced budget.”

* Sun-Times editorial…

It is hard to imagine how the Legislature will approve a full budget on Saturday, regardless of the mounting pressure. The appropriations bill passed by the House Friday must be read a third time and voted on again. Then it must be passed in the Senate. Then everybody has to quit playing chicken and approve an income tax hike, likely to 4.95 percent from 3.75 percent.

This could easily go until tomorrow or even Monday or Tuesday. We’ll see. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad if they can’t get it finished today because there are just so many moving parts to deal with. As long as there’s progress, as long as they’re talking, I’m not gonna complain. The leaders, by the way, are meeting after the House votes on the 911 emergency services bill today. Watch our live coverage post for updates.

* Drew Zimmerman…

Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, voted in favor of the spending plan and said there should be a vote on a budget implementation bill Saturday, which should put the longstanding impasse to rest.

“The good news is for all the negativity that’s been coming out of Springfield for so long, we’ve finally broken that dam,” Pritchard said. “And we’re finally going to be able to address some of these issues and rebuild our state.”

Votes on “trailer” bills about workers’ compensation, a property tax freeze and other issues should follow, with the session concluding Sunday, Pritchard said.

Although the atmosphere within the statehouse was optimistic after passage of the appropriations amendment, Pritchard admitted there will likely be a negative public response on how to handle the state’s $15 billion bill backlog.

* Related…

* Mark Brown: Another budget deadline passes, but maybe a glimmer of hope at Capitol

posted by Rich Miller
Saturday, Jul 1, 17 @ 11:50 am

Comments

25K layoffs if you shut down road work?

Whats next, in service of the Turnaround Agenda? Frogs dropping from the sky?

End this plague now,

To quote that great humanitarian Mike Bost, “I feel like I’m trying to be released from Egypt. Pharoah Junk, let our people go.”

Comment by wordslinger Saturday, Jul 1, 17 @ 12:03 pm
I think the tide is turning. This stalemate can be brought to an end soon. I’m encouraged by the vote yesterday and by the statements of Representatives like Andersson. Stick with it and do your best for Illinois, GA!

Comment by doggonit Saturday, Jul 1, 17 @ 12:08 pm
It is NOT a compromise to raise our income taxes while not SUBSTANTIALLY reducing spending!

Comment by Disgusted with Springfield Saturday, Jul 1, 17 @ 12:20 pm
According to the voting record on the final House Amendment to SB 6 Rep Ford voted in favor of it. He had his chance along with other progressive Democrats to stage a revolt on spending relating to social services in the amendment. They did no such thing. None the less I agree with Rep Ford on the overall funding in SB 6 for a wide variety of human services and I also agree with him that this was a clear Republican victory as he indicated in his quote in the AP story. The real question for the progressives in the House Democratic caucus is what to do about this defeat, my guess is their plan is to do nothing at all other than to lick their wounds. Madigan is in firm control of the situation.

Comment by Rod Saturday, Jul 1, 17 @ 1:10 pm
Sarah, if you are afraid of the people you represent, maybe it’s your values, if you can’t face the music

Comment by Rabid Sunday, Jul 2, 17 @ 3:01 am