On Eve Of Special Session, Pressure Mounts For Bipartisan State Budget
(CBS) – Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday urged lawmakers to fall in line and send him a full budget, as pressure mounted for his administration to finally reach a deal with the Democratic-controlled Illinois General Assembly.
The Republican governor was short on details, during a brief, live televised statement to Illinoisans. He said he already has seen a compromise plan from GOP legislators that includes a "real path" to property tax reduction, among other elements, that he can support.
"If we can agree to pass it, we will stop this unnecessary crisis," Rauner said in his address.
A lot is at stake for Rauner heading into the special session, which begins Wednesday in Springfield.
Former White House chief of staff Bill Daley -- brother and son of Chicago mayors – made that clear at a City Club luncheon.
"Bruce Rauner cannot win re-election if he doesn't get a budget right this year," the Democrat said. "I don't care who's running against him."
Daley said, "Maybe I'll throw my hat in the ring, because anybody can beat him." He said he was joking about running.
The Civic Federation's Laurence Msall says he wants budget specifics from the governor.
"If we're going to spend more than we take in, we're going to have to raise taxes. It would be good to know how high we're going to raise those taxes," Msall said.
"If we're not going to raise those taxes, we're going to have to do an awful lot of cutting, and the governor should identify where those cuts will be."
The governor's attempt to avoid a third year without a budget comes as he saturates the airwaves with ads going after the Democrats.
"This is the same guy who's calling for unity while at the same time spending millions of dollars in TV attack ads and mailings, attacking the people he wants to unify around him," state Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, says.
