Republican State Senator Chapin Rose says Democrats in the legislature have the numbers to pass a budget, and need to act soon. The Champaign County lawmaker says Governor Rauner’s budget address offered Democrats two paths to a budget agreement... either work with him and accept at least part of his reform agenda, or pass legislation that expands the governor’s authority to amend whatever budget they send him.
But Rose says he fears that if there’s no budget agreement in the next two months, Illinois’ budget impasse may continue a lot longer, with grave results.
“My fear is, if you get past the middle of April, this thing’s going to drag on until the November elections … And at that point in time, you will have wholesale shed blood in the streets all over the state of Illinois, from everything from higher education to social services. And a lot of the things that people of both parties believe pretty strongly in will have been devastated.”
Rose says the fact that the Illinois House adjourned until March First shortly after the governor’s budget address makes him wonder if Democrats are very concerned about an ongoing budget impasse.