Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has called a “special session” of the General Assembly scheduled for next week.
He wants lawmakers to vote on the Republican budget plan - a plan that also includes items on his political and economic wish list.
Rauner has resisted calling special sessions during the previous two years of budget impasse. But in a video posted online, he says time is running out.
“For two years, the majority in the General Assembly has ignored our recommendations for a long-term, balanced budget," Rauner said.
The Democratic majority disputes that fact. House Speaker Michael Madigan says Rauner’s agenda includes “non-budget items” that would hurt middle-class families — like changing the rules around compensating workplace injuries.
A spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton, also a Democrat, points out that the Senate already passed a balanced budget — one that includes elements of the governor's agenda.
