SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Latest on efforts in Springfield to secure a budget deal before a third straight fiscal year begins Saturday without one (all times local):
4:25 p.m.
House Speaker Michael Madigan says he will call a $36.5 billion spending plan for a vote Friday while Democrats and Republicans continue to negotiate tangential issues crucial to a state budget deal with Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The Chicago Democrat reiterated Thursday that revenue to pay for the Democrats’ plan would rely on an income-tax hike but no legislation has been filed.
The state has been without an annual budget since 2015 and faces a July 1 deadline for avoiding starting a third one in a row without a plan.
He says talks continue key issues demanded by the Republican governor. They include restrictions on workers’ compensation payouts, pension-benefits savings, local government consolidation and a property tax freeze.
Madigan says he will insist Rauner give in on Democrats’ demands too - such as signing a school-funding overhaul plan and using a public procurement process to buy managed-care coverage. Madigan says he’s met Rauner more than halfway on his requests and it’s time for Rauner to give back.
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The spending bill is SB6 .
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3:45 p.m.
Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno (ruh-DOHN’-yoh) says she decided to step down earlier this year, but kept going to get an elusive budget deal first.
She told reporters at a Thursday news conference that the July 1 start of the fiscal year is the next natural break for her. That’ll be her last day.
Radogno’s resignation announcement comes as lawmakers are in special session to try and end an unprecedented budget impasse. If there’s no deal before Saturday, Illinois enters a third straight year without a spending plan.
Radogno, a former social worker, was elected to the Senate in 1996. She and Democratic Senate President John Cullerton took leadership of their respective caucuses the same day in 2009.
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2:45 p.m.
Illinois lawmakers have approved a new version of a plan to fund 911 centers, increase phone fees to pay for the emergency services and allow Illinois to drop traditional landline service.
The plan is similar to one that legislators have already sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner, aside from a technicality.
The telecommunications act - which allows for 911 fees to be collected and distributed to 911 centers - expires Friday. The previous bill was an extension of that act, meaning it’s moot when the original act is.
The new bill revives the act. So lawmakers can still act on it after Friday.
Rauner has already said he’ll reject the plan over fee increases. State Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Chicago Democrat, is a bill sponsor who says the legislation has enough votes for an override.
Either way, 911 call centers aren’t expected to immediately lose funding because there’s a lag time in collecting fees.
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-The new bill is HB1811.
-The previous bill is SB1839.
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2:40 p.m.
The Illinois Senate’s minority leader is calling it quits.
Lemont Republican Sen. Christine Radogno (ruh-DOHN’-yoh) is the first woman to lead a caucus of the Illinois General Assembly. She issued a statement Thursday that she will step down as senator on Saturday, which is first day of the new fiscal year.
The 64-year-old Radogno said, “I have done everything I can do to resolve the state’s budget crisis.” She worked with Senate President John Cullerton to fashion a wide-ranging budget compromise to break the long-running stalemate with GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner. But she could not convince her 21 other Republican senators to vote for key parts of it.
Radogno is a social worker who was elected to the Senate in 1996. She and Cullerton took leadership of their respective caucuses the same day in 2009.
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12:20 p.m.
The Illinois House has approved a plan to keep emergency 911 call centers funded past June 30. But the measure includes fee hikes opposed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The measure sponsored by Harrisburg Democratic Rep. Brandon Phelps increases the telephone surcharge for emergency services. It would go to $5 from $3.90 in Chicago and from 87 cents to $1.50 in the rest of the state. Rauner called those hikes “unacceptable.”
The legislation won House approval 86-24 Thursday after a 47-2 Senate vote a day earlier.
The measure has not been sent to Rauner for action. A Democratic House leader filed a motion for a new vote. That keeps it in the House for now.
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The bill is HB1811 .
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4:55 a.m.
Illinois legislative leaders plan to meet again in continuing attempts to nail down a budget deal before a fiscal crisis that could erupt by Saturday.
Thursday is the ninth day of a special session called by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. He has disagreed with the General Assembly’s Democratic majority for two years over a budget plan. Lawmakers are working to avoid starting a third consecutive fiscal year without an annual spending plan.
Rauner has insisted on “structural” changes to the business and political climates such as a property tax freeze and cost-cutting to workers’ compensation and state employee pensions. The House approved plans addressing some of those issues Wednesday but Republicans say they’re not in line with what the governor is seeking.
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