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House Speaker Michael Madigan rejected bipartisan efforts to reach a budget deal in the General Assembly by not even calling the bill for a vote, Rep. Sheri Jesiel (R-Winthrop Heights) said after the spring legislative session ended on Wednesday.
“The good faith and cooperation of these negotiations gave me hope that we could actually tackle this critical issue and use it as a catalyst to craft a balanced budget and begin the financial healing process our state so desperately needs,” Jesiel wrote in an opinion article for the Daily Herald. “Unfortunately, these final days of session have shown Springfield at its political worst.”
The state has not had a full-year budget in two years, placing immense strain on publicly funded institutions like schools and social services. The General Assembly must pass a budget by June 30 to have one in place for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1.
Rep. Sheri Jesiel (R-Winthrop Heights)
“For Speaker Madigan to not even call a vote on a budget appropriation bill, let alone a balanced budget appropriation bill, is a disservice to every person in the state of Illinois,” Jesiel wrote. “If the end of the fiscal year comes on June 30 and there is no budget in place, more services will stop and it may cause irreparable damage to the long-term financial solvency of our state…I hope the Speaker will finally put people ahead of politics before it is too late.”
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