After Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's TV ad campaign began Monday, casting House Speaker Michael Madigan and other legislative Democrats as the reason that a budget deal has not yet been reached, Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton reacted. Mark Fitton of the Illinois News Network explained:
SPRINGFIELD -- If any, signs of progress in the standoff between legislative Democrats and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner were few on Tuesday.
With two weeks to go before the fiscal year runs out and no budget in place for the one that starts July 1, the House and Senate spent much of the day on non-budget hearings.
And despite a new Rauner television ad that ripped him, House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, stuck to his talking points.
The speaker did, however, say talks between both parties' legislative leaders were making progress "slowly, slowly."
Senate President John Cullerton sounded a bit more upbeat in a Monday night TV appearance on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight."
"Ironically enough, I think we're going to reach an agreement on the budget, and hopefully we'll do it it before the 1st of July," said Cullerton, D-Chicago.
Cullerton, though, didn't back that up with any hints of concession from either side.
And the governor's office seemed unimpressed.
Check out more analysis and videos of Cullerton and Madigan at Reboot Illinois.
Even with all the news of the budget stalemate coming out of the General Assembly, the Better Government Association's Andy Shaw wants Illinoisans to remember that not all new developments out of Springfield this spring have been bad. Shaw praised the legislature for addressing Freedom of Information Act issues and other transparency and accountability measures. Check out the full list of Shaw's thumbs-ups at Reboot Illinois.
