Illinois Poised to Head Into Third Year Without a Budget

The Illinois House adjourned without attempting to advance pending Senate budget proposals, alternative House budget or a “stop-gap” budget. Prior to the House adjourning, Speaker Madigan held a press conference to state that there remains insufficient support on any FY18 budget proposal and that the House would not be voting on any budget bills before adjourning.

The House did adopt HJR 65 to allow both the House and Senate to be in “continuous session” and reconvene “at the call of the Chair.”  The State of Illinois is now likely to head into its third consecutive year without a full budget agreement, and the backlog of unpaid state bills at a record $14.5 billion (which includes $1.1 billion in unpaid bills to K-12 schools).

According to sources, it is likely that the House and Senate will be called back in two weeks to try and advance a negotiated budget, and the House “budget working groups” are scheduled to meet in Chicago next week.