SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ― When the clock strikes midnight Tuesday night, the Illinois budget year will end without a new budget in sight, and Gov. Pat Quinn says he won't accept a "half-baked" temporary plan.
Quinn promises a veto if lawmakers send him a budget that fails to balance and slashes key services.
In a hastily arranged Tuesday speech to a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate, Quinn urged lawmakers to put aside their political concerns and do whatever is necessary to produce a sound budget.
The Democratic governor said he is prepared to stay in Springfield all summer to get results.
If he vetoes the budget plan, paychecks may start bouncing within a week.
Quinn told reporters at a Rainbow/PUSH Coalition breakfast at McCormick Place Tuesday morning that if lawmakers send him their makeshift spending plan it will be "thrown right back at them."
He says if that happens lawmakers will be looking at what he calls a "double overtime" session.
Quinn, reiterated his push for raising the state income tax, a proposal legislative leaders thus far have refused to go along with.
"Don't take an aspirin until you get a headache," he said when asked what Illinois residents should expect in his "double overtime." "I'm going to work all day today until we get a budget. Hopefully that happens and we won't have to worry about double overtime."
He said he didn't think he was the problem in getting the budget passed.
"I don't think there's ever been a more cooperative governor, a more civil governor" he said. "But at the same time there is something that I think the people of Illinois want. They want to make sure the common good comes first."
As of now, it appears most likely that the state will have to hit thousands of social service agencies with big spending cuts, and teachers may also end up getting fired.
One or two state prisons may also close, CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reported.
Quinn originally called for a hike in the state income tax to plug the $9.2 billion hole in the state budget. The Illinois Senate voted to approve his plan, but the Illinois House voted against it.
As it is, another option is borrowing. The Illinois House recently voted 101-7 to approve legislation that would allow the state to borrow about $2 billion. If the state Senate agrees, legislators say would it reduce the pain of budget cuts but not eliminate them altogether.
The General Assembly also finally agreed to send to the governor's desk the pruned-back budget and the public works program approved about a month ago.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery, the STNG Wire and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
