Illinois Budget Impasse Drags On Into 2016
Illinois General Assembly Henryk Sadura / Shutterstock.com
And that’s having a big impact on cash-strapped businesses, residents, institutions and non-profit organizations that depend on state payments.
On Jan. 1, pumpkin pie became the official pie in the state of Illinois. It was one of many new state laws that took effect at the beginning of the year.
While state lawmakers in the Land of Lincoln found time to designate an official state pie in 2015, they didn’t get around to resolve a long-standing budget stalemate, which continues to drag on into the new year with no solution immediately in sight.
While the state government hasn’t shut down, the unresolved budget mess in Springfield is impacting state residents and businesses in a variety of ways.
As the Daily Herald reports, a St. Charles-based business that removes large gas tanks from the ground to prevent environmental damage depends on payments from an “obscure state account” that’s funded through the collection of a penny for every gallon of gas sold. Those pennies continue to be collected, but without a budget in place, businesses normally paid through the account haven’t received any state payments since July 1.
"I feel trapped in a political situation that's beyond my control," Robert Renguso, whose business depends on that state account, said, according to the Daily Herald. Renguso’s business is now facing foreclosure proceedings this month.
Also tied up the state budget stalemate? Student aid.
"I don't have $2,360 in the bank right now,” Jacqueline Suriano, an undergraduate at the Illinois Institute of Technology, told CNN Money about her predicament and need to pay an upcoming tuition bill. “It does feel like this was something that was promised and now I have to come up with it," Suriano said.
State universities haven’t been paid by the state either, forcing them to draw upon reserves, cut spending and slash services. The bond ratings of Illinois state universities have taken a hit as well.
Non-profit and social service organizations are feeling the fiscal pinch, too, and have had to resort to furloughs, layoffs or service cuts.
What’s at the root of the budget debacle in Illinois?
According to the Northwest Herald:
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative Democrats who control the House and Senate have been at loggerheads since lawmakers in May approved a deficit budget that spent $4 billion more than the $33 billion the state was expected to collect. Rauner vetoed it, citing the long-ignored balanced budget provision in the state constitution, but approved the portion funding public schools.
And there’s more bad news ahead: As the Northwest Herald points out, there may not be a resolution on the 2015 budget until after March primary elections. “The governor will be giving his budget address for the next fiscal year, and we don’t even have a budget for this fiscal year. That’s how messed up this is. We are the ultimate freak show,” according to Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks.
RELATED on Route Fifty: “Illinois Knocked by Researchers for Sub-Par Budgeting Practices”
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive’s Route Fifty.
NEXT STORY: Another Real-Life Test for an Earthquake Early-Warning System Under Development