By Nick Gale, WLS-AM 890 News
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Lawmaker have called it a day in the Illinois House as they fail to get a budget in ahead of the midnight deadline.
On Friday, House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) introduced a $36.5 billion budget and it passed a test vote, but Madigan says no deal would be reached before a critical midnight deadline. Illinois will now enter its third consecutive fiscal year without a budget.
Madigan says lawmakers will return on Saturday to continue to come up with a compromise.
Meanwhile, Madigan has sent letters to credit rating agencies asking them for more time before they likely downgrade, yet again, Illinois’ bond ratings. In one of the letters, sent to Standard and Poor’s, Madigan asks them to “temporarily withhold judgement” to allow legislators to come up with a bipartisan, balanced budget.
In the letter, Madigan called the budget impasse “the governor’s budget crisis.”
S&P and others have vowed to lower Illinois’ bond rating status to “Junk” if lawmakers don’t come up with a budget.
Copyright 2017 WLS News
