Illinois Senators are trying to trump Governor Bruce Rauner's rejection of a handful of spending bills.
Democrats Wednesday voted to override the governor's vetoes of funding for the state police, the
Departments of Children and Family Services and of Aging and the state fire marshal.
Democratic Senator Dan Kotowksi says if Illinois doesn't fund these operations ... residents' lives are endangered.
"This bill allows us to have the resources to protect our first responders, to keep them safe, to make sure they have the resources they need to do the job to keep us safe."
But Republicans say the entire spending plan is out of balance ... and that the governor's vetoes should stand.
In order for that to happen, the House has to follow the Senate's lead within 15 days.
Most of the budget will remain nixed, no matter what.
Legislators did not attempt to override Rauner's rejection of about a dozen other budget bills ... including those that fund higher education.
There is no state budget, two weeks into the fiscal year, and the public jockeying continues over what cuts not to make.
A day after an hours-long hue and cry over the Illinois State Museum, State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) stood alongside elderly and disabled Illinoisans in danger of losing home health services.
With neither the governor nor the legislature offering a balanced budget, Biss asked how can Illinois get to a solution if nobody wants to cut anything?
"We have to be willing to make hard choices, and I think we have to be honest about the fact that none of those choices will be easy or painless, but there are gradations... - Illinois State Senator Daniel Biss
"When you talk about, 'Oh, let's move that number, or that threshold a little bit,' you forget the human consequences, and I don't think you can look at this presentation and say, 'This is the right cut to make," and I don't think it's consistent with the values of the people of Illinois."
Amid speculation lawmakers might try to override the governor's budget veto, Biss said, “If that's the least worst option? Yikes. The Constitution of Illinois was not designed for the state to be run from the legislature. The governor has to manage the budget.”
