Rauner and General Assembly to take budget fight into summer

Democrats approved a $36 billion budget for the state, which exceeds the state’s projected revenues by $3 billion. Gov. Bruce Rauner, meanwhile, is sticking to his “turnaround agenda,” which he wants the GA to attend to before he entertains new revenue proposals. The legislature did not send a budget to Rauner, who said he would not sign.

On May 29, as legislators headed into their long weekend, state Rep. Greg Harris expressed frustration at the loggerhead that had come between legislators and Rauner, especially those legislators concerned about excessive cuts that came from Rauner’s budget proposal this past February.

“Anyone being honest knows that we have to raise additional sources of revenue,” he said, adding, “There is a dialogue going on between the four [legislative] leaders and the governor. Whether that results in anything substantial immediately, we’ll see.”

Nothing substantial did emerge for now. In a May 31 press conference, state Sen. President John Cullerton said, “When I emerged from that meeting I restated my commitment to work with the governor on compromises that will move this state forward. … But there was something that I left out of my comments—and that is my disappointment in the direction that this state is about to take under Governor Rauner’s leadership. The governor made it clear that in the next few days, he will launch a multimillion-dollar negative ad campaign designed to demonize those who are standing up for the middle class.”

Rauner has reportedly dipped into his campaign funds to film a series of commercials blasting his opponents to be broadcast over the summer. At a May 31 press conference, State Journal-Register reported, the governor refused to discuss the matter and addressed the moribund negotiations.

“We do not have a balanced budget,” said Rauner. “We have an attempt to force major tax hikes on the people of Illinois, and we have absolutely no significant reforms and no sincere effort that we can tell yet to achieve significant reforms.”

Rauner had previously suggested he was scaling his turnaround agenda back, and was only focusing on two components, worker’s compensation reform and a property tax freeze. But on May 31 he indicated that three other components would still have to be addressed: term limits, tort reform and redistricting.

In an interview with WSIU-TV, House Speaker Michael Madigan said that Rauner’s changes would ultimately be too extreme for middle-class Illinoisans. Rauner, in his May 31 press conference, said Madigan makes his money off “big, expensive government.”

Among the legislation pertinent to the LGBT community still waiting for Rauner’s signature as the session closed were bills amending the state’s hate crimes ordinance to both redefine the term “sexual orientation” to more easily include gender identity and include incidents of property damage; prohibiting anti-gay conversion therapy on minors; and requiring funeral directors to honor a person’s last instructions pertaining to their gender identity.

Also still in question are the numerous cuts that adversely affected HIV/AIDS funding, mental health services and homelessness services, among others. Rauner’s February budget cut about $15.8 million for services towards persons with HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer and breast cancer, for example, as well as $3.1 million for homeless youth shelters. Harris, who chairs the House Appropriations—Human Services Committee, introduced legislation May 28 to undo those cuts, as well as others.

“The Democrats have been in favor of those things, and the Republicans have not,” said Harris, who, also on May 28, also questioned why a high-level Rauner official, Secretary of Education Beth Purvis, was being paid out of the Department of Human Services budget rather than that of the Office of the Governor. On May 30, Chicago Sun-Times reported that a second Rauner staffer, policy advisor Jennifer Hammer, was also being paid from the DHS budget.