Sangamon Sun

Illinois Republicans, including District 96 House candidate Cindy Deadrick Wolfer, were shocked and dismayed when Democrats recently approved House Speaker Michael Madigan’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which called for the state to spend $7.2 million more than it would rake in.

But the out-of-balance spending plan approved by the House last week was rejected in the Senate, eliminating all hope of solving the 11-month budget impasse before the end of the spring legislative session, which ended at midnight on Tuesday. 

During an intense session last week in the House, Republicans protested the imbalanced bill and the fact that they had been given insufficient time to review the 500-page document and the missed verification of the 63-53 vote.

“The representatives that voted YES on a 500-page budget bill, with less than two hours to review, and $7.2 billion more in spending than revenue were irresponsible,” Deadrick Wolfer wrote on her Facebook page. “This is not how we manage our businesses or our homes. It should not be the way we manage the fiscal issues of the state of Illinois.”

Due to the controversy over the missed verification vote, a second vote was called on May 26 and the bill passed by a 60-53 vote. The difference in the vote total was attributed to the absence of two Democratic legislators who voted in favor of the bill and another legislator’s malfunctioning vote button.

Many members of the House were surprised by the vote because legislative leaders had met with Gov. Bruce Rauner earlier that day as part of the ongoing negotiation talks between the governor and lawmakers.

According to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, the budget proposes to spend $39 billion while the state is only projected to receive $32 billion in revenue due to the expiration of the 2011-2015 temporary income tax increase.

While the state would continue to rely on court orders and consent decrees to fund government services, approximately $13.7 billion would be taken out of the general revenue fund, according to the plan.

The plan also provides an additional $500 million appropriation for poverty-stricken school districts and an additional $75 million for early childhood education. Although the amount the bill would earmark for schools surpasses Rauner’s proposed additional $55 million, the bill does not propose changes to the state’s school funding formula.