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Home / IL: Governor Calls Legislature Back Into SessionIL: Governor Calls Legislature Back Into Session
Last Updated on Thursday, 3 July 2008 04:39 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 3 July 2008 12:18
Wonder how much politics is at play between the Democrat Governor’s office and the Democrat House Speaker’s office. Maybe it’s a family matter in one of those offices. From the Daily Chronicle:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday ordered state lawmakers to return from summer break and get back to work on the state budget.
He called for a special session of the General Assembly on July 9 and 10, during which he said he hopes House Democrats will pass revenue bills to pay for the $2 billion deficit in the proposed budget. The budget year started Tuesday.
But the governor risks triggering the kind of gridlock that kept legislators in Springfield all of last summer. House leaders say there’s little evidence that anything has changed to allow a budget deal since the last legislative session ended.
The governor is pressing lawmakers to pass a construction bill that would provide up to $600 million in revenue and a measure allowing the state to tap into state checking accounts not intended for the general fund. Those accounts have $3 billion in surplus money, Blagojevich said.
The state Senate already has passed the revenue measures. Blagojevich said similar measures were employed in previous years and that the House leadership’s stalling was disingenuous.
“Why, why can’t they do it again in 2008 so that I’m not in a position where I have to make reduction in a budget, reductions I don’t want to have to make?” Blagojevich said. The governor said if lawmakers don’t vote for new revenue for the 2008-2009 budget by July 10, he will make cuts to services to balance spending.
The governor retreated from some of his earlier threats, however, saying he would not cut funds for rape prevention centers and would keep Amtrak funding at last year’s level.