From the Associated Press
The increasingly nasty feud between Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democrats is about to spill from the Illinois statehouse to voters’ mailboxes and televisions, as the rookie Republican unleashes a multimillion-dollar ad campaign against lawmakers he says are intransigent over the state budget and his political agenda.
The entrenched, more experienced Democratic leaders—who say Rauner warned them of the coming campaign—began pushing back yesterday. Senate President John Cullerton said GOP lawmakers are being “lured away by the siren song of Gov. Rauner’s campaign cash,” hindering compromise.
“We find ourselves trying to work with a governor who continues to run campaigns rather than the state that elected him,” the Chicago Democrat said. “Rather than roll up your sleeves and work on solutions, he’s dictating demands and threatening those who defy him.”
Majority Democrats in the General Assembly approved a $36.3 billion spending plan they say preserves Rauner-proposed cuts to essential programs. They acknowledge it’s $3 billion short on revenue and want Rauner to agree to a tax increase.
A solemn Rauner spoke to reporters yesterday evening as the session officially came to an end, calling that plan “phony” and warning of a “rough summer,” but reiterating his pledge to meet anywhere, any day to resolve the differences.
The lack of a budget deal means any compromise to close a $6.2 billion deficit for the year starting July 1 now will require a three-fifths vote rather than a simple majority.