The Illinois General Assembly ended its regularly scheduled spring session Sunday, without passing a single piece of Governor Bruce Rauner's so-called Turnaround Agenda.
Back in February, in his State of the State address, Rauner gave little indication he was willing to compromise on his pro-business platform: "We should consider it as a whole, not as a list of individual initiatives."
Democrats did just that — and rejected it as a whole.
Rauner has narrowed his list of demands, at least for now, and says they're a prerequisite to reaching a budget deal to keep the state running and make sure schools open on time.
Meeting with reporters, Rauner says he's had "cordial" conversations with House Speaker Michael Madigan — while simultaneously slamming Illinois' longest-serving Democrat.
"Speaker Madigan has been the one constant in Illinois politics for more than 30 years," Rauner says. "We've been driven into the ditch."
Rauner has been expected to launch a multi-million advertising blitz against the speaker and other Democrats, though he refused to confirm or deny that on Sunday.
For his part, Senate President John Cullerton says he's ready to negotiate on Rauner's agenda — if there's something on which they might agree.
"I have to tall you: these are proposals that are very dramatic," Cullerton says. "They're aimed at hurting the middle class. … And they’re not just simple things that you can just take a supermajority of Democrats and just say, 'Oh, here, vote for our bills or we're not going to have a budget.'"
Legislators are already planning extra sessions throughout the summer.
