A stop-gap budget is on its way to Governor Bruce Rauner, and that's as far as it will probably get. Legislators are moving forward on another front, too.
Just before Illinois began its new fiscal year at the start of the month, Gov. Rauner rejected the bulk of the state budget. Meaning Illinois is without one. That's left service providers and state employees wondering when, and if, they'll be paid.
Democrats say the temporary budget they've now passed will keep the most important needs covered, through July. Here’s one top Senate Democrat, Heather Steans:
It's very narrowly focused. This is in no way sets us on a path to overspend. Rather we're trying to ensure that some key services that really do impact the life and welfare of particularly vulnerable groups are being met.
But Rauner, a Republican, has pilloried the plan, and said he won't sign it.
The Senate has also gotten started on another path: Democrats used their super-majority status to override some -- but not all -- of the governor's budget vetoes. The House has two weeks to do the same, otherwise Rauner's vetoes stand.
