General Assembly Adjourns w/o Budget, Funding for Education

For the second year in a row, the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly has adjourned without a fiscal year budget in place.

The stakes are even higher this year, since there's no funding measure in place to support K-12 education in Illinois.

Local St. Rep. John Cavaletto said it was infighting between Senate and House Democrats that blocked passage of a state budget.

As the midnight adjournment deadline neared, the Senate voted down a House budget plan with only 17 Yes votes. Then, House Democrats helped defeated a Senate Democrat plan that would have funded grade schools and high schools, giving Chicago Public Schools about $475 million more and increasing elementary and secondary education statewide by $900 million. Only 24 House members voted in favor of the measure, with 92 voting against it.

Two area Senate Republicans said the numbers being floated are unrealistic. Dale Righter of Mattoon said the figures being suggested are not believable. Kyle McCarter of Troy said the fractious nature of things is due to years of promising Illinois residents amounts of money for programs when the funds aren't available.

Cavaletto said a funding plan for education must be in place by July 1, the start of the new state fiscal year and the time when school districts need to know what funds will be available for the new school year.