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Central Illinois Gazette

Without tax increase, state budget blown up

Posted by: Tom Kacich

Monday, June 1, 2009 1:16 AM

The Senate just adjourned -- 1 hour and 5 minutes after its scheduled ending -- but will stand by at the call of the chair.

The reason? The upper chamber spent most of the last four or so hours passing 50 percent budgets (good enough for six months), skimming hundreds of millions more from dedicated funds and trying other schemes to find money to keep the state operating.

Senate President John Cullerton said he hopes to have the Senate back "in a few weeks, hopefully," although in an earlier conversation Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno indicated Republicans will push for a broad range of reforms before agreeing to any tax and budget deal. She mentioned not only Medicaid and pension reforms but also a new idea -- actual limits on spending tied to inflation.

The undermanned Republicans somehow won this budget session. Neither Gov. Quinn nor Speaker Madigan came out of the session with what they wanted -- an income tax increase. They may still get it, but it won't come easy.

The elation in the Senate 24 hours ago -- after a huge income tax and sales tax expansion bill was passed -- has been replaced by grousing about the lack of courage in the House.