Rauner, Democrats disagree on short-term budget fix - Chicago Tribune

 

More than a week after Gov. Bruce Rauner declared he was "literally days away" from a solution to the $1.6 billion shortfall in this year's budget, the governor insisted Friday that he and Democrats are "very close" to a deal.

 

"We'll get it done," Rauner said after delivering a speech to business leaders in Chicago. "The critical thing … is that we don't raise taxes because of this and that we don't do borrowing because of this, we just reallocate."

By that Rauner means he wants to take money from some programs to pay for others on the verge of going broke. But doing so requires cooperation from Democrats, some of whom say the Republican governor hasn't done enough to persuade them to get behind his plan.

A key sticking point is what Democrats describe as a lack of specifics.

 

"We still need more information," said Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago. "There certainly have been conversations, but we're still trying to mine out relevant information."

Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, said the governor has yet to offer up legislation to spell out which programs he plans to raid or cut to solve the shortfall.

 

"I think the easiest thing to do is for the governor to be specific," Brown said. "We haven't seen a full bill. When the governor provides a full bill, then maybe something can move forward."

Rauner insisted all week that negotiations were progressing and a deal was "close." It's a familiar refrain from the rookie governor, who as a candidate had a habit of batting back reporters' questions about when he would offer specific proposals with promises of answers "soon" and "in due time."

Timing for the deal was better before last week's budget address, when Rauner laid out his agenda for sweeping cuts to programs favored by Democrats, Phelon said.

It was during that speech that Rauner said a deal on the current budget crisis was imminent. Madigan agreed at the time. Negotiations appear to have stalled.

"Once (Democrats) got a picture of how he intends to manage and how he intends to prioritize, that just made it harder for them to grant him a blank check or to grant him expanded authority to do the same thing in this current year," Phelon said.

A partial rollback of the temporary tax hike meant a projected drop of $4 billion in revenue that could have helped cover the shortfall, which threatens to cut off payroll for prison guards and court reporters, as well as funding for other programs. Already, state funding for a popular subsidized day care program has run out. Without more money, the options are to cut program spending, move money around between programs, or borrow.

On Friday, Rauner suggested Democrats were trying "to take advantage of the cash flow crisis to try to force a tax hike."

Leaders in both chambers disputed that claim.

"We have never made that a condition for solving the issues with (this year's budget)," Phelon said. "What we have made an issue of is a need for greater transparency when it comes to the types of things he considers nonessential services and the types of things he wants to cut."

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