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Budget plan in governor's hands now

By Kurt Erickson and Mike Riopell, The southern Springfield bureau

Sunday, August 12, 2007 1:56 AM CDT

SPRINGFIELD - Lawmakers approved a state budget and left town Friday, leaving the next move in a summer of bitterness and dispute in the hands of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The governor, who was handed defeat after defeat by the General Assembly this spring and summer, has threatened to veto the $59 billion spending plan because lawmakers failed to take action his call for a massive expansion of health care and a road and bridge construction program.

"We've got a budget, that's really, to sum it up, all about pork, politics and false promises," Blagojevich said Friday as he cut the ribbon to open the Illinois State Fair. "Right now we're in a position where I think it's pretty fair to say we have a lot more work to do."

Blagojevich called on lawmakers to return to action Saturday and Sunday, but legislative leaders thumbed their noses at his order, saying they needed a break from the acrimony.

"My advice to all members would be: Don't come to Springfield," said House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.

"Everybody needs a big time-out," added House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego.

Approval of the budget came on the same day an agreement was reached to keep paychecks flowing to government workers during the state's ongoing budget stalemate.

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes and the state's largest employee union formalized the pact in a Taylorville courtroom Friday afternoon.

"No one will miss a paycheck this month," the statement said.

But, Hynes cautioned that the agreement, affecting state workers and university employees, doesn't account for payments owed to schools and state contractors.

"Obviously, school districts still have the same problem," said state Rep. Roger Eddy, a Hutsonville Republican who also serves as a school superintendent there. "You can't properly plan unless you know what your operations budget is going to be."

Blagojevich and the General Assembly have been arguing over a spending plan since they missed a May 31 deadline to get a budget in place.

The budget approved by wide margins in both the House and Senate -would provide a major financial boost to schools, give universities a 2 percent raise and allow the state to hire 500 more prison guards.

The plan, which also includes an estimated $200 million in pet projects inserted by lawmakers, would be paid for by the proceeds of natural revenue growth.

Among them are $300,000 to fix up a 1940s-era baseball stadium in Danville and $275,000 to help pay for a multi-million dollar transportation center in downtown Normal.

But the lack of a statewide construction program had most lawmakers figuring that their break from the Capitol would be relatively short.

"I think we're a long way from being done," said state Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat who was among eight voting against the budget plan.

Efforts to approve the construction program fizzled in the Senate when majority Democrats couldn't muster enough votes to muscle the $22 billion proposal through the chamber.

Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, tried to pin the defeat on Republicans, who also had withheld their support.

As Jones walked off the floor at nearly 1 a.m. Friday, he said the construction program was dead. On Friday, again, he said the construction program was dead.

Blagojevich aides said he remains committed to trying to get something done, especially in light of the bridge collapse in Minnesota.

Cross and Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, also said they remain committed to hammering out a construction program.

It is not clear whether Blagojevich will sign, veto or amend the budget plan.

A spokeswoman said the nearly 1,400-page document is under review.

kurt.erickson@lee.net

217-789-0865