Rauner vetoes most of Illinois budget

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed most of the Illinois state budget Thursday, increasing the chances some state services will be disrupted next week when the new fiscal year begins.

Democrats backed a spending plan that the governor says is $4 billion short on revenue.

Word arrived during state Senator Kimberly Lightford's opening remarks that Gov. Rauner would veto the appropriations bills that fund the social services programs depended on by most who attended a rally on the West Side of Chicago Thursday.

"It's alarming that his agenda is tied so directly to the budget that hurts low income people and children and seniors," Lightford said.

The governor will not sign the Democratic-controlled General Assembly's spending plan that is $4 billion short of needed revenue. The move compels the governor either to make cuts or support raising taxes.

"To send a $4 billion unbalanced budget to the Governor is reprehensible," House Republic Leader Jim Durkin said.

"We need to have revenue discussions," says State Rep. Art Turner. "We've talked to the Governor about this in the past. He's shown interest in having these discussions."

But before he'll talk new taxes, the governor continues to insist lawmakers pass his "turnaround agenda".

In a Chicago Tribune op-ed published Thursday, Rauner repeated his demands for workers compensation and lawsuit reform, a property tax freeze, term limits and redistricting reform as well as what he called "comprehensive pension reform."

"We [pass] this whole turnaround agenda, we still have a $4 billion budget hole," Lightford says. "We still have the problem that we have."

Fifteen days ago, State Comptroller Leslie Munger said if a new budget is not passed by next Wednesday, she cannot pay non-profit social services agencies or small businesses who sell the state goods and services, Medicaid re-imbursements, or new bills submitted by vendors. And she says she cannot set aside money to pay state employee salaries on July 15.

"We will be asking them to come to work with no idea on when we can pay them," Munger said.

Both the Illinois House and Senate return to Springfield next Tuesday, June 30th. It is highly unlikely they'd be able to write and pass a new budget as well as turnaround elements during that one session.

And what's more complicated is the fact that the State Worker Union contract expires at midnight June 30.