Lawmakers racing the clock on budget

SPRINGFIELD -- An elusive, multibillion-dollar construction spending spree remained out of lawmakers' grasp Wednesday as pressure grows daily for them to strike an accord on a state budget before the end of the month and avert another summer of expensive marathon overtime sessions.

An array of business and labor interests joined key legislative leaders and Gov. Rod Blagojevich at a media event outside the governor's Capitol office. But while they all professed to support a $31 billion construction program, they admitted there's currently no deal.

"We're not quite where we want to be, yet," Blagojevich said.

Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat, talked about supporting the "concept."

And Senate Republican leader Frank Watson of downstate Greenville, specified that "the bill is not final."

Watson and other Republicans want strict accountability measures tied into any deal to ensure the governor spends the money the way lawmakers want, something he's not done in the past. Watson said his GOP members have not yet reached a "comfort level" in the latest negotiations.

The $31 billion proposal would be financed by leasing out the state's right to Illinois Lottery proceeds, new and bigger casinos and slots at horse tracks for cash up front. Backing up the borrowing would be the state's increased sales tax take from higher gasoline prices.

Illinois last approved such a sweeping construction program in 1999, when then-Gov. George Ryan negotiated his $12 billion Illinois FIRST program. It was financed with higher vehicle fees and liquor taxes.

But that money ran out shortly after Blagojevich took office in 2003. Ever since, there's been clamoring for another construction program, but numerous incarnations have all fallen apart.

Blagojevich told reporters he saw no reason a construction deal and a state budget couldn't be approved before midnight Saturday, the constitutional deadline for approval. Beginning Sunday, any budget deal requires support from 60 percent of lawmakers, and that brings House Republicans to the table who have different spending priorities than their majority Democratic colleagues.

Democrats in the House and Senate have moved competing budget plans. Republicans claim neither is balanced. In general, the plans call for either sweeping away excess dollars deposited in special state accounts, billions in pension borrowing, or finally cashing in on the 10th riverboat casino license.

The question looming over the next 72 hours is whether the Democratic leaders can find common ground.

Meanwhile, school officials from across the state lobbied lawmakers Wednesday to increase funds for classrooms. They argued that the anticipated bare-bones budget hurts schools.

Blagojevich was non-committal when asked if he'd demand lawmakers stay in session if a final budget is not to his liking, or there's no construction plan. The governor did say he's not linking the two plans, but added "I believe everything can get done by Saturday."

Last year, a Democratic stalemate resulted in lawmakers blowing past the May 31 deadline, the July 1 start of the next budget year and a litany of special sessions that cost taxpayers upward of $1 million just to cover lawmakers' expenses. A deal wasn't brokered until August, and parts of it also fell apart amid allegations of political backstabbing among Democrats.

Noticeably absent from Wednesday's construction ceremony was House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, who's consistently been at odds with Blagojevich.