It's the budget deadline day in Illinois. If a meeting yesterday between Governor Bruce Rauner and legislative leaders is any indication, they're not going to make it.
It's seemingly been weeks since Rauner, a Republican, meet with all four of the legislative leaders. Since what's believed to have been the last time they were all together, the governor began airing ads that attack Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. The state has also gotten a lot closer to a partial shutdown since then. They all got together yesterday.
While the governor's office won't say what went on, Madigan's spokesman said "no harm was done." Otherwise, he said, the governor again repeated his five-point agenda. Rauner says it'll grow the economy, and that its passage is contingent on his agreeing to new revenue that could prevent billions of dollars in cuts. Democrats maintain Rauner's platform will harm middle class families.
Senate President John Cullerton's spokeswoman says of the meeting: they left no closer to a resolution. Legislators will be back in Springfield today to continue trying. The House is starting a two-day hearing on what a shutdown could look like.
