Activists To Rally In Demand For State Budget Deal
Updated 06/28/16 - 10:55 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Get it done. That's the message some Chicagoans are hoping to send to state lawmakers on Tuesday; at issue, whether schools will open in the fall if the state can't come to a budget agreement.
A group called Get It Done Illinois will hold a vigil at 6 p.m. outside the Thompson Center, demanding an end to the yearlong budget impasse.
With three days left in the fiscal year, concern is mounting over school funding. Will schools open on time in the fall?
"We just want everybody to come together in one accord, do whatever compromise that need to be done to get a budget now," the group's Pamela Walker said. "They're just out of touch. I don't even think they have young children, understanding what it means in August or September not to be able to send your children to school."
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Monday he is close to a compromise with Democratic lawmakers on a partial year budget deal, but said Democrats should not hold up a stopgap spending plan by pushing for a "bailout" of the Chicago Public Schools.
"People across the state should not be held up with their tax money to go bail out Chicago Public Schools. CPS has been financially mismanaged for years and years," Rauner said.
However, Senate Democrats said they plan to propose a K-12 education spending plan that outspends the governor's by more than $500 million. Their plan calls for an increase in education spending by $760 million, compared to the governor's plan to boost public school funding by $235 million.
Both the Senate and House return to Springfield on Wednesday to approve a stopgap budget before the start of the new fiscal year on Friday.
"It's time for the state to do what's right, fix a broken educational formula that makes Illinois 48th out of 50 in state funding of education," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. "And when you come to say that the formula's broken, but I'm going to double down on it, that's not the right choice. You're penalizing poor kids and kids of color across state of Illinois."
Tuesday morning, House Speaker Michael Madigan indicated he's unlikely to let the K-12 education funding proposal get a vote Wednesday, which means the game of political chicken between Madigan and Rauner is likely to continue for at least another week, if not longer.
Without a budget deal by Friday, state road construction projects also could come to a halt. Crews already were preparing to mothball work on Deerfield Road in north suburban Deerfield, but could continue the job if there's a budget vote this week.