Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has concluded the legislative session by thanking lawmakers for persevering through an "epic struggle" over the budget with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The House finished its two-year term Tuesday. The 101st General Assembly is inaugurated Wednesday. Rauner is replaced Monday by Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker.
Democrat Madigan says he won't rehash the ideological stalemate his party had with Rauner that stalled a state budget for two years. But he credited Republican as well as Democratic members for bucking Rauner in July 2017 to adopt a tax hike and approve a budget.
He says lawmakers deserve credit for the work they do daily but that "from time to time the issue become more significant." He says that's what happened in the battle with Rauner and legislators rose above politics to do the right thing.
