Lawmakers Not Thrilled About Special Session To Save Construction Projects
UPDATED 06/07/11 7:23 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gov. Pat Quinn's promise to call a special session of the General Assembly is not getting an enthusiastic reception.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Dave Dahl reports, there is also disagreement over whether construction jobs are really at stake because Illinois lawmakers failed to approve funding on capital projects, even though Quinn has threatened to halt all the state construction projects.
If Quinn makes good on his threat, such projects as the long-awaited reconstruction of the Congress Parkway bridge at the mouth of the Eisenhower Expressway could go on for a long time to come.
A bill to obtain that funding between now and the end of the year would require 71 votes in the Illinois House of Representatives. That means Republicans would have to add some support.
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But House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) suggests Quinn can't even count on his own party.
"It makes sense to call us back if there is a plan, but as far as I can tell from what I've heard, I haven't seen a plan come from the governor that is likely to win sufficient support in the legislature, in both chambers, to make a difference," Currie said.
To state Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine), the premise of the special session could be reasonable.
"We absolutely need to reauthorize this appropriation so we can keep these projects going; part of a capital bill entered into in '09," Murphy said. "What's disappointing is the choice to hold this particular bill hostage because it provided the most leverage to the Senate Democrats."
The House would not pass a continuing capital appropriation because of a Senate amendment that added $430 million in unrelated spending for the coming fiscal year.
But Steve Brown, a spokemsan for House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), said while the House is all ready to work with the governor, his claims are overblown. Brown said there is really no need for a work stoppage or possible layoffs, because the General Assembly gave Quinn an extra six months ot pay bills in another measure.
If the work stoppage goes through, CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports, literally thousands of workers could be sidelined.
