SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois Senate is returning to Springfield on Wednesday for a new legislative term expected to be dominated by officials' inability to agree on a budget that should have taken effect July 1.
The stalemate puts lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in the odd predicament of trying to pass an overdue budget at a time when they traditionally would be ironing out a spending plan for next year.
The session that runs through May is expected to get off to a slow start. The House won't convene until Jan. 27, when Rauner will deliver his State of the State speech. And some lawmakers will be preoccupied with March primary races.
With no budget, the state has been operating with stop-gap measures and court-mandated spending that's plunging Illinois further into debt.
