Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, June 22, 2017.
Rauner calls for unity on budget, asks legislature to “act for the people”
Governor Bruce Rauner gave a televised speech calling for a “compromise budget plan” ten days ahead of the special budget session he’s convened after the Illinois General Assembly under his leadership once again failed to pass a budget before June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Invoking Lincoln, Rauner claimed that “right now, our state is in real crisis—and the actions we take in the days ahead will determine how history remembers: “We reviewed a compromise budget plan that I can sign—one that we can all support. It moves us to middle ground on key issues. It is truly balanced. It funds schools, higher education, and human services. It provides a real path to property tax reduction.” Meanwhile, the state, in a stalemate, has been operating without a budget since July 1, 2015, and has seen its credit rating lowered to just above junk. [Sun-Times]
