SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Senate President John Cullerton says Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “sketch” of a budget proposal Wednesday is more than $3 billion short of necessary revenue. The Chicago Democrat says that doesn’t count the deficit the state is building in the current year because lawmakers and the Republican governor never approved a budget last summer.
Cullerton complimented Rauner for saying education should get more money. But he says the formula used to provide money to schools must be changed first. And he says the governor offered a “sketch” and not a spending blueprint.
Rauner continues to demand changes to workers comp and collective bargaining laws in exchange for a tax increase to manage the deficit. Cullerton says any tax increase would have to come from Rauner and get GOP support because Democrats cannot approve it alone.