The Illinois Senate has adjourned its fall veto session without voting on tax breaks for Archer Daniels Midland Company or the newly merged OfficeMax and Office Depot.
Sen. Tom Cullerton is sponsor of the bill to give up to $53 million in tax breaks to Office Depot Inc., which emerged from the merger of Naperville-based OfficeMax and Florida-based Office Depot. He expects lawmakers will return to Springfield in December to deal with the state pension crisis.
Cullerton says some legislators wanted to wait to give out tax breaks until after they'd passed pension reform. Sen. Andy Manar is sponsor of the ADM bill. He says he feels progress has been made on the $30 million ADM bill. The incentives are aimed at getting the companies to keep their headquarters in Illinois.
Both the House and Senate have concluded the veto session and adjourned. Still, other issues remain unresolved. A bipartisan committee tasked with solving the state's $100 billion pension problem says it's making progress but hasn't reached an agreement. House Speaker Michael Madigan says he hopes lawmakers will return to Springfield before the end of the year to approve legislation.
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WEDNESDAY:
The Illinois Legislature is entering its final scheduled session days for the calendar year.
Lawmakers are set to gather Wednesday in Springfield following a full day of work Tuesday.
Among the items being considered this week are tax incentives for Illinois-based companies, requests for additional funding by various state agencies and stricter gun penalties.
A bipartisan committee tasked with finding a solution to the state's nearly $100 billion pension problem says they're making progress but it's unlikely a vote on the issue will be called this week.
Lawmaker voted Tuesday to approve same-sex marriage legislation, making Illinois the 15th state in the nation to allow the measure.
The Legislature is expected to adjourn Thursday and will reconvene in January if no special session days are scheduled.
TUESDAY:
Illinois lawmakers are convening in Springfield for the final three days of their annual fall session.
The action kicks off with Tuesday hearings on corporate tax incentives and stricter gun penalties in the Illinois House.
Same-sex marriage legislation could also come up for a vote in the coming days. The measure was approved by the state Senate in February but stalled in the House in the spring. Advocates have since launched a more collaborative push and several undecided lawmakers announced their support for the measure. Opponents say they're prepared to mount primary challenges against members who vote for the legislation.
Lawmakers are not confident there will be a vote on a deal to solve the state's $97 billion pension crisis, but they say they are making progress on a deal.
MONDAY:
Legislators will begin returning to Springfield Monday for what could be the last gathering of the General Assembly this year.
The same issue that has plagued Illinois lawmakers continues to do so - funding of the state's retirement systems.
Meetings of the General Assembly's top leaders indicate some movement on the issue. And Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat from Northbrook says legislators heavily involved in pension talks have narrowed their differences about revised retirement benefits. Still, there's no evidence of a deal.
Nekritz says this week is a key deadline - it's the second half of the two-week veto session; legislators aren't expected to meet again until 2014.
Still, it's not a hard deadline:
"It's been one of the frustrations of this particular issue that there is no cliff, it's not like we face - like they did in Washington - with a government shutdown on a particular date," she said. "This is just a very long, slow slide into ... oblivion."
Archer Daniels Midland could see legislators vote on the tax credit package it has requested if it makes Chicago its headquarters - a push that appears to be more popular since ADM agreed to boost hiring in Decatur.
And there are signs that members of the House who've previously been reluctant to vote to legalize same-sex marriage may be ready.
Also on the agenda - a hearing on a possible new tax on paint, altering Illinois' renewable energy requirements, and authorizing extra money for state programs running low on funding.
