Already holding the title for longest state budget stalemate, Illinois is poised to enter a third year without a spending plan as the feud between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats controlling the legislature drags on.
Lawmakers blew past a budget deadline last month, triggering a requirement that any new budget vote be by three-fifths instead of a majority.
They’re expected to return to Springfield for a special session starting Wednesday facing higher stakes to get a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Unpaid bills are piling up. Rating agencies are threatening to downgrade the state’s credit to “junk.” Uncertainty about schools, transportation projects and social services grows. And campaigning for the 2018 election is well under way in what some predict could become the most expensive governor’s race in U.S. history.
