Editorial: Senate budget actions uneven, but worth reflection

Perfect, the saying goes, is the enemy of good.

The essence of that maxim was in full flower in the Illinois legislature last week, though it's an admitted stretch to apply either term to whatever it is that is happening in Springfield. But there's no escaping the phrase.

Senate President John Cullerton said, in essence, "It's time to quit treading water on a budget compromise. Let's vote on proposals developed by Republicans themselves."

Republicans, including former gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady, on whose March budget proposal many of the compromise bills were specifically based, cried, "Whoa! We're not ready. We need to do more work."

To which Cullerton replied, "There are two weeks left. Our constituents expect us to act. Let's vote."

Previous efforts to pass the compromise had stalled because each individual piece of legislation required passage of all the others, and Republicans in particular were balking at pieces they found, well, imperfect - notably a property tax freeze they didn't think was long enough, school reform legislation that among other issues bails out Chicago Public Schools and workers' compensation reform they want to be stronger.

So, Cullerton unlinked the bills, knowing his majority party had the votes to pass most of them. Among bills approved Wednesday were a measure making it easier to consolidate governments, casino gambling expansion and a $36.5 billion budget including $3.7 billion in spending cuts. But when it came time to approve the law that would permit implementation of the budget, even some Democrats reversed course, apparently in an effort to embarrass Republicans who they felt weren't willing to take the political heat for compromises they'd helped write.

Suddenly, it was all just one more picture of stereotypical Springfield gamesmanship. On Thursday, Cullerton had hoped to take up some of the most contentious parts of the bargain - including the property tax freeze, an income tax increase and workers' compensation reform. He had to pull up short and send everyone home when it became apparent there would be no progress on those issues. But let's not be too hasty to criticize.

Illinoisans have scoffed for decades at the general practice of the legislature to dump several pounds of budget paperwork on lawmakers an hour before the end of session and gain passage. Cullerton can hardly be faulted for pressing for action now - especially considering that the measures face nothing but uncertainty in the House and with the governor. Although the political optics are ugly, it's clear from remarks on both sides that Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have made sincere moves toward compromise. And, while we have grave misgivings about some pieces, especially the CPS bailout and gambling expansion, it's still worth noting that reaching something like consensus on bills of this magnitude would be nothing short of remarkable in any past legislative session.

So the week gave us something worth pondering. No, it wasn't perfect. It wasn't even good. But it did suggest hope.