Cullerton Wants To Restart Budget Talks, Rauner Says He Only Wants More Taxes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A day after saying House Speaker Michael Madigan was the only obstacle to reaching a state budget deal, Gov. Bruce Rauner accused the other top Democrat in the General Assembly of refusing to negotiate, even as Senate President John Cullerton was saying the governor and lawmakers need to "hit the reset button" on budget talks.
At a Chicago news conference, Cullerton said it's time to start from scratch, since the spending plan Rauner proposed in his February budget address wasn't balanced, just as the one Democratic lawmakers approved in May wasn't.
"The governor has rejected nearly our entire budget. At the same time, the governor never gave us a real budget; a balanced plan that could pass. So rather than fight over proposals that aren't going anywhere, I'd like to suggest that we hit the reset button, and start over," Cullerton said.
Podcast
The governor's office already had responded even before Cullerton finished speaking to reporters.
"Wow. That's not good," Cullerton said.
In an email, Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said "President Cullerton made clear today that his view of a balanced budget is a budget that makes no spending reforms, no pension reform and only raises taxes. Rather than moving our state backward to the failed tax-and-spend policies of the past, we urge President Cullerton to work with us to pass meaningful structural reforms to change the fiscal trajectory of our state."
A day earlier, the governor himself accused Madigan of stalling any agreement on a spending plan, and intentionally putting social service programs at risk of running out of funding, in an effort to pressure lawmakers to approve a tax hike.
"The reality is, if it were just our office working with President Cullerton, or Mayor [Rahm] Emanuel, or certain members of the General Assembly in both political parties, we would have this done," Rauner said.
Cullerton dismissed any suggestion that he and Rauner would have a deal by now if it weren't for Madigan.
"He's not [Rauner isn't] negotiating with me on the budget. That's why I'm here. I don't know what he's talking about," Cullerton said.
He also said Senate Democrats are not pushing for a tax increase, as Rauner claims.
"We're asking for him to tell us how to balance this budget," he said. "We invited the Republicans and the governor that shared our priorities to work with us on crafting a complete budget solution. The governor rejected that offer, vetoed the plan, so that brings us here today."
The budget impasse has largely focused on Rauner's demands for various "reforms" he claims would improve the state's finances – such as worker's compensation changes, limits on financial damages from lawsuits, and curtailing union bargaining power. Cullerton said the budget should not be held hostage to Rauner's corporate-friendly anti-union "Turnaround Agenda."
"While some of these ideas are worthy of debate, the governor's been unable to provide one shred of evidence that his agenda adds one cent to the ledger for our budget crisis in the short-term, or to elevate our credit rankings in the long-term," he said. "We can always do incremental things, but he has not moved at all off those things. In the meantime, he's vetoing budgets."
He also noted Rauner's push to curb collective bargaining rights has limited support even among Republican lawmakers.
"He almost lost his primary because of unions, because he didn't know that there's Republicans in Illinois who are pro-union, and so he doesn't have any support for his proposals in his own party, other than the intimidation of having a bunch of money," Cullerton said. "It's not going to happen."
Cullerton acknowledged the spending plan approved by Democratic lawmakers is dead, after the governor vetoed it, but said Rauner's original budget proposal isn't going anywhere either.
"Not only was the governor's plan not balanced, it was unconscionable, and it was unworkable. Governor Rauner's plan included proposals that will undermine access to health care, child care, affordable college, and retirement security for hard-working middle class families," he said.
Cullerton accused Rauner of acting as if he's still running for office, rather than actually doing his job as governor.
"You can't just use a bumper sticker from when you're running for governor, and then start governing that way. You have to be engaged, and you have to make compromises and proposals," he said.
He also noted the state's credit rating – already the lowest in the nation – is at danger of further downgrades if lawmakers and the governor don't reach an agreement on the budget, and he said Rauner's continuing demand to get his agenda passed first puts the state at risk.
"The rating agencies are not asking for collective bargaining changes, or policy changes unrelated to the budget. They're doing the math on our budgets. They're looking at income and liabilities, and that's where our focus ought to be," he said.
Cullerton said the Senate will be back in session on August 4, and he hopes to have agreed to some compromises by then.
Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno is rejecting her Democratic counterpart's call for Governor Rauner to send a new budget plan to Illinois lawmakers.
"What we need is honest to goodness engagement from the Democrats on the reform issues," she said. "The budget piece of this is the easy part of the problem. That is a math problem. The governor has indicated a willingness to be flexible on the revenue side."
As the budget stalemate continues, is Radogno worried that some functions of state government and funding for social programs will grind to a halt?
"We've been coming to a grinding halt for a long time and what is happening is people are just leaving the state," Radogno said.
