Weekend Watch: Budget failure repercussions

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Jose Sanchez, who co-managed our legislative agenda in Springfield again this spring. He's totally locked in on the "big picture"---the budget failure, its consequences and our expectation that the governor and the legislative leaders stay in Springfield to keep working on a deal by the end of the fiscal year, June 30---as well as the outcome of our good government reform agenda.

What does the outcome of the budget mean moving forward?

It's clear, it means another year of being unable to fund the state or pay our bills. A week ago, the BGA alongside other policy and civic engagement groups had one message for Springfield. Don't come home without a balanced, full-year budget. We are very disappointed.

Do you think something will happen during the extended session in June?

We need to have a budget by the end of June. Failure to do so will result in further credit downgrades for the state, which could cost us billions of dollars. Our call to leaders in Springfield is simple, work through the dysfunction and pass a budget. We've seen glimpses of that this session, some of it resulting in great legislation being passed like Automatic Voter Registration and Senate Bill 3.

What are AVR and SB3?

Automatic Voter Registration will place more eligible voters on the voter rolls while saving money and making our voter rolls more secure and accurate. Senate Bill 3 is a big government consolidation bill that will empower voters to tackle the nearly 7,000 units of local government, allowing government to work more efficiently while lowering property taxes for residents in Illinois. Both bills passed with bipartisan support and really highlight what our leaders can accomplish when they work together.

You can read the full Better Government Association story online at bettergov.org.