Legislature Goes Into Overtime!

Failure to develop and pass a new budget by last Thursday has forced the General Assembly into overtime. New rules apply and for the first time in two years Republicans will have a chance to participate in the budget debate. It appears that this participation by the Republicans will not specifically bring additional funds to education since they tend to support a more conservative “no-growth” budget. We will monitor the activity now that the House has been scheduled to meet three days each week through the month of June. Local news this morning announced a request by Governor Blagojevich to meet with legislative leaders each Monday and all legislators each Friday during this month to move the budget process forward. This request has not been met with any enthusiasm on the part of our legislators. The governor’s single minded focus on his pet project, “health insurance”, to the detriment of other needs has caused a great riff between his own party members and the entire legislature. Stay tuned!