Deal on State Borrowing By Month's End? Maybe, Maybe Not

Thursday, June 17, 2010

While Gov. Pat Quinn is hopeful lawmakers will be called back to Springfield by the end of the month to vote on a borrowing package, some say it won't happen.
Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) has said there must be guaranteed support from Senate Republicans before lawmakers would be called back to Springfield. If the Senate isn't called back, Quinn would be forced to make nearly $4 billion in budget cuts.
The borrowing plan already passed in the House with a three-fifths majority vote.
"I think it's important for the Senate to address the matter," Quinn said. "The citizens of Illinois expect members of the Illinois Senate to vote on bills that affect the common good."
Quinn wants to borrow $4 billion to pay next year's pension payment for state workers.
Meanwhile, while the state continues to struggle in this slow economy, so too are the universities and colleges. Earlier this week, outgoing University of Illinois president Stanley O. Ikenberry said the university would look to receive a line of credit before it would take the state up on a borrowing plan. Quinn says the U. of I. and other state universities showed interest in a borrowing plan and that's why he signed it into law. He says he wants to make sure universities and colleges have all the fiscal tools available in these tough times.