Illinois bare-bones budget takes rugged path toward approval

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- What happens when politicians accuse each other of lying, officials denounce their own plans and a lame-duck governor goes head to head with election-minded lawmakers?

You get the Illinois state budget -- eventually.

The strange process that produced a new budget, complete with deep spending cuts and higher taxes, bears no resemblance to the tidy steps described in civics books.

The Illinois version featured a top lawmaker condemning one plan, producing his own version, then criticizing it.

The governor and legislative leaders twice walked out of a negotiating session with opposite opinions about whether they had reached a deal on the budget.

In a twist on the usual roles, Senate Democrats stood by and watched while Senate Republicans produced enough votes to raise taxes. The money was needed to minimize cuts for unions and social services, traditionally Democratic concerns.

Gov. George Ryan congratulated lawmakers on the budget they sent him, then turned around and slashed it by an additional $500 million.

One lawmaker got so fed up that he resigned right on the House floor -- then quietly returned a few days later.

It was, according to the always-understated House Speaker Michael Madigan, "a very difficult session."

Revenue falling

The difficulties began last fall, when it became clear that tax revenue was going to be much lower than expected. Ryan asked lawmakers to help him cut spending, but -- led primarily by Madigan and his House Democrats -- they refused.

Ryan made some emergency cuts using his own authority but had to carry much of the deficit to the next budget year.

That meant lawmakers faced a $1.35 billion hole. They had to raise taxes or cut services -- not the kind of news lawmakers ever want to hear, especially not in an election year.

You could practically hear the brakes screeching as gridlock set in at the statehouse.

People started talking, endlessly, as they looked for a way around the problem, or at least an acceptable compromise.

Legislative leaders met with their members. The governor met with the legislative leaders. Lobbyists met with everyone.

The top Democrat in the Senate, Emil Jones of Chicago, described the high-level negotiations this way: "You need a third party which impacts the fourth party, and he will be talking to the fourth party."

House Republican leader Lee Daniels of Elmhurst also tried to clarify things. "I've been here for many years, and frequently the end-of-session negotiations come at the end of session," he said.

Senate Democrats wanted to balance the budget without any spending cuts. House Republicans wanted to do it entirely with cuts. House Democrats actually voted to increase spending.

Republicans in the Senate ended up offering a detailed proposal that combined spending cuts and tax increases, while Ryan took the unprecedented step of delivering a second budget address.

But even that did not break the gridlock. If anything, the confusion grew.

'Securitization' plan

Then came the so-called "securitization" plan.

The idea, essentially, was to raise a large amount of money quickly by selling bonds. The buyers would be repaid out of the future proceeds from the state's lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

Senate Democrats backed a version of the plan and House Republicans eventually agreed. But Senate Republicans and House Democrats rejected it until Senate President James "Pate" Philip, R-Wood Dale, came up with a compromise.

When lawmakers approved the state budget, Ryan praised the "compromise agreement" and thanked them for taking up the challenge of balancing the budget.

Then he said it wasn't balanced and cut $502 million, calling lawmakers into special session to act on his changes.

Senate Democrats and House Republicans yelped that they had been betrayed. The deal, they said, was for Ryan to use the tobacco money to avoid such cuts.

The Republican governor, however, said he made no promises and that all the legislative leaders should have known what was coming because, "I may have hinted at that."

In the end, the state got a new $54 billion budget that officials say is balanced.

Of course, many of them said the same thing about the last one, before cutting it by another $502 million. So is the latest budget really balanced?

Sure, said Daniels. "It is all a matter of definition."