While the Governor and legislative Republicans have remained open and willing to work toward a permanent solution on the budget, this week Senate Democrats approved a temporary, one-month budget that the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget cautioned is out of balance.
In a memo to the Governor, Tim Nuding, Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, said, “…this bill marches the taxpayers of Illinois toward an unbalanced budget one month at a time.” According to Nuding, the one-month budget represents little, if any, improvement over the state budget that passed the Legislature this spring. The Democrat lawmakers’ budget, which was nearly $4 billion out of balance, was vetoed last week.
State Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon) pointed out during a committee hearing that ignoring the Illinois Constitution’s requirement for a balanced budget is how we got into this mess, and ignoring it again isn’t the solution.
During floor debate on the proposal, State Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) said, “We don’t need a one-month fix. Illinois is fundamentally broken and we need substantial reform.”
While the Democrats’ one-month budget passed in the Senate, an identical measure introduced in the House of Representatives failed to receive the required votes, leaving the proposal’s future uncertain.
Senate Republicans remain optimistic that through bipartisan negotiations, a more long-term solution to the state’s fiscal problems can be reached.