Legislation is on its way to the governor's desk that would finally send money to human service agencies. The General Assembly today approved $700 million in funding. There are rumblings of progress on an overall budget as well.
The measure would open the spigot to autism, AIDS and elderly support programs. They'd receive nearly half their state funding. Although Republicans voted for it, the governor's office is signaling problems with the plan.
It comes as legislators who've been privately meeting say they've drafted a possible scenario for a balancing the budget next year using both spending cuts and tax increases. Rep. Fred Crespo, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates, is careful about what that means.
"There's no agreement. I mean, we made it very clear that whatever's out there does not mean that this is what we're proposing. All we presented was a scenario that's balanced."
Some lawmakers say it at least shows they can work together.
