State Sen. Righter On The Budget Impasse In Illinois
State Sen. Dale Righter (Right) with Sen. Chapin Rose, at the University of Illinois Urbana campus on Jan. 29, announcing legislation tying state funding for higher education to procurement reform. Jim Meadows/Illinois Public Media
This is the time when legislators in Springfield should be preparing to work on a state budget for next year --- but there’s still no budget plan for this year. State Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) discusses what it might take to reach an agreement.
Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a budget plan passed by Democrats last spring, except for K-through-12 education. Since then, the Republicans and the governor and Democrats led by House Speaker Michael Madigan have been locked in a budget stalemate.
We talked with area lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to see if they saw a way out of the ongoing budget impasse. An interview with State Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) is also available here.