Gov. Ryan to make budget cuts

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Staring at the possibility of a long election-year stalemate, top Illinois lawmakers decided Wednesday to approve an overloaded budget and let the governor decide where to make cuts.

The action leaves the most difficult choices -- such as whether to close a prison and how much to cut from medical care for the poor -- in the hands of Gov. George Ryan.

Lawmakers, particularly Democrats who have opposed spending cuts, will be able to vote for a budget that contains many of their favored programs. The Republican governor, who is not seeking re-election, then would be able to cut the budget back to the austere levels he outlined this week. Ryan denied having any agreement with legislative leaders, but he again promised to use his veto powers to trim any excess spending lawmakers approve.

"If the budget isn't balanced when it gets to my desk, it will be when it leaves," Ryan said.

House leaders, however, said the arrangement was the governor's idea.

Ryan and the legislative leaders have spent weeks fruitlessly negotiating over how to close a $1.35 billion deficit in the $53 billion budget for the coming year.

Proposes to cut jobs

Ryan has proposed deep spending reductions, including cutting 6,500 state jobs and scrimping on social services, along with raising taxes on cigarettes, casinos and selling real estate. But some lawmakers strongly oppose the cuts and others reject the tax increases.

The tax side of the budget is still far from settled. The real estate tax appears to be doomed in the Legislature, and other measures may be in trouble, too.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said the House will vote today on legislation to add millions of dollars to Ryan's budget proposal. The Republican-controlled Senate has agreed to approve those changes, sending the budget to Ryan's desk for final action, Madigan said.

Madigan would not estimate the amount of the added spending, but House Minority Leader Lee Daniels, R-Elmhurst, put the total at $387 million.

"I think we should have a budget agreed upon ... instead of sending him an inflated budget where he vetoes out the areas he doesn't like," said Daniels, R-Elmhurst.

Time is a factor in the latest strategy.

If lawmakers do not approve a budget by midnight Friday, it becomes tougher to pass anything at all. Rather than a simple majority, it would take a three-fifths vote. Finding that much support could take a long time and require added spending to placate lawmakers, some officials warn.

The Illinois Constitution gives the governor power to eliminate or reduce spending authorized by lawmakers. The Legislature then can decide, after the November election, whether to accept the changes or reverse them.

It was common under former Gov. James R. Thompson for lawmakers to approve more spending than was realistic and let the governor make cuts.