Budget Update

After another week of posturing there is still no state budget. The House of Representatives approved a series of overrides on items vetoed by Governor Blagojevich but the Senate last week only restored a small fraction (about $7 million) of the funds cut by the Governor. A bill to restore funding for special education costs for about 250 school districts passed in the House and was defeated in the Senate mainly due to a last minute amendment that added funds for other pensions for state workers. This bill would have brought Center Cass District 66 about $30,000 to help fund special education programs. It will be interesting to see what, if any, action the Senate will take with regard to overriding the Governor’s vetoes. Many Senators are calling for the opportunity to override these vetoes but have been blocked by the inaction of Senate President Emil Jones, a close ally of the Governor. Depending on which calendar you examine the Senate has until either October 17th or October 25th to act on the budget overrides. Despite a great deal of Republican noise, there is still no Budget Implementation Plan (BIMP) which means that the $400 increase in the foundation level funding has not reached the local school districts who could use it. In the meantime, both the House and Senate are not in session this week heading home to their local districts.

In other news today, the Chicago Tribune featured an editorial criticizing not only Governor Blagojevich but also Mayor Richard Daley and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger for their handling of the current fiscal crisis.