A southern Illinois state senator says he's not sure a budget deal will be reached before the end of this calendar year.
You're going to see a lot of people bleed. I mean, they're going to run out of money. ~State Sen. Gary Forby (D-Benton)
Senator Gary Forby says right now, no legislation is proposed and lawmakers don't have any idea when they'll actually be voting on either Governor Bruce Rauner's "Turnaround Agenda" or leading democrats' plans.
"I think we ought to go to Springfield. I think we ought to go A-Z, cut everything out of it. And then when we get that done, we'll see what the total is. And if we need to do a tax hike, we have to do it. You know, it's the law, there's nothing we can do about it. But we need to make sure we do the right cuts and do it first."
The Benton Democrat says he's not been for a tax increase before, but admits there may be no way around it this time.
Forby says he's fears the next several months will be very hard - if not impossible - for some local governments and social service agencies as state moneys dry up.