Quinn says lawmakers didn’t get job done on budget

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn kept up his criticism Wednesday of the budget lawmakers sent him.

The General Assembly forwarded to Quinn a spending blueprint of about $2 billion less than what he proposed, including a cut of nearly $300 million for schools and universities. The Democrat said lawmakers “didn’t get the job done” but would not say what he would do with the plan.

“They kicked bills into the next fiscal year. That’s not cutting the budget,” Quinn said at a news conference. “You’ve got to invest in things that count, that matter for jobs, that matter for families.”

With some of the strongest veto powers of any governor in the country, Quinn could strike out parts of the budget or reduce spending amounts. But he may not add money. Quinn would not say whether he would call legislators into special session in an attempt to persuade them to kick in more for schools and other of his priorities.