Ill. Gov. Quinn vetoes budget plan

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on Tuesday vetoed a key portion of a makeshift state budget that was approved by legislators, calling it a "halfway measure'' that would fail to fund basic services and set Illinois up for a wave of lawsuits.

Quinn's action leaves state government without a spending plan for the new budget year. That endangers the paychecks of thousands of state employees and creates a risky financial situation for state-funded groups that provide child care, drug treatment and other services.

Lawmakers aren't scheduled to return to the Capitol for further discussions until July 14, roughly the same time that the first government paychecks would be interrupted by the budget impasse.

The Democratic governor did not use his power to call a special session that would bring legislators back to Springfield more

Quinn's budget veto marks another round of uncertainty and frustration for Illinois taxpayers. The move leaves state workers who might not get a paycheck and poor families wondering if they'll lose daycare and health services.

For the third straight time, Illinois government has entered a new budget year without a new budget in place. State officials are amid the worst fiscal crisis in Illinois history.

Things have gotten so twisted in Springfield that Quinn wound up opposing his own borrowing plan and legislative leaders are likely to fight to revive a budget they didn't want in the first place.

For now, government will operate more or less normally. But Quinn noted without a budget, any group depending on state money can keep delivering services as usual but they "do so at the risk of not being paid.