Rauner urges political unity to save the future of IL

Nearly two full years into a budget impasse that has Illinois' debt soaring and its bond rating plummeting, Gov. Bruce Rauner is calling on state lawmakers to approve his preferred budget plan during a 10-day special session that begins at noon Wednesday.

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner will deliver a live address to the people of Illinois tonight from Representative Hall of the Old State Capitol. "We've asked the General Assembly to come together in a special session for the next 10 days, not as Democrats and Republicans but as leaders who share bipartisan concern for our state's future". He said a failure to act on a budget in this special session could cause permanent damage that will take years to overcome.

The proposal includes a four-year property tax freeze and term limits, along with a four-year income tax increase. They say that the only solution is to pass a full state budget to keep the state's fiscal problems from getting work. IL has the lowest credit rating of any state, following two years without a full budget, but failing again could bring it down to junk bond status - something no state has ever dealt with. He called the next 10 days the most important legislative session in IL history.

Both Democrats and Republicans signed a letter opposing a stopgap budget for the Land of Lincoln yesterday.

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"We have stated unequivocally that a resolution to the governor's budget crisis-which has resulted in eight credit downgrades and tripled the state's debt-must be our top priority". The governor will cancel any remaining special session days if the General Assembly enacts the compromise balanced budget plan prior to June 30.

As the political standoff between Rauner, a Republican, and House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Democrats, continues, service providers at all levels feel the financial pinch created by the lack of a budget.

"I thought his message was good in that he did not make personal attacks against any particular caucus", Ives said. "It's clear that real negotiations and real compromise are needed". Failure, he said, is not an option.

IL now has $15 billion in unpaid bills, a running deficit of $6 billion and an estimated $130 billion in pension debt. You privately negotiate. You go back to your caucus.