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Mixed Reaction After Spring Legislative Session
Hours after the Illinois General Assembly adjourned with only a partial budget, the four legislative leaders will meet with Governor Pat Quinn to talk about what happens next.

The House would not support an income tax increase, and the legislature sent Quinn only a makeshift budget expected to provide only half the funding for many programs and agencies, compared with Quinn's proposal earlier this year.

"We still have a hole in our budget," says Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago). "We've appropriated all the money we have, but it's probably still $7-billion short of what we spent last year."

Not everybody is opposed to some people feeling pain. "I don't think it's fair to ask the taxpayers to put more money into the same old, broken-down, corrupt system," says Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont). "I don't know if we need more money. Until we look seriously at the changes, we don't really even know how much we need."

Radogno's House counterpart, Representative Tom Cross (R-Oswego), says the controlling Democrats "have clearly failed. No question about it." He says it's a recurring theme: "They've spent six years increasing spending. They've got to pay the piper. They're not willing to pay him. Or her."

(Illinois Radio Network)
05 31 09 by Newsroom
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