Illinois Lawmakers adjourned their spring session at the end of May after the Democratic majorities in the Illinois Senate and House patched together a $35.7-billion budget for Fiscal Year 2015 without extending the temporary income tax increase.
More on Lawmakers Pass Patchwork Budget and Capital Bill Before Adjournment
The Illinois House of Representatives will vote on a budget that is $4-billion less than the $38-billion spending plan approved a week ago after Speaker Michael Madigan said that he does not have enough votes to extend the state’s temporary tax increase.
More on FY2015 Budget, Federal Equal Rights Amendment, & Minimum Wage
On this week’s program, House Democrats begin advancing their version of next fiscal year’s budget without having voted to extend the state’s temporary income tax increase and a Sangamon County Circuit Judge temporarily blocks the implementation of the state’s new pension reform bill.
On this week’s edition of Illinois Lawmakers: Capitolfax.com publisher Rich Miller outlines the uphill fight for lawmakers to extend the state’s five percent temporary income tax hike. Our newsmaker interview features Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont discussing taxes, school funding reform, and new developments in the legislature’s investigation into Governor Pat Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. Later, House Mass Transit Committee Chairman Al Riley (D) Olympia Fields and the Committee’s Republican Spokesman Mike Tryon of Crystal Lake outline legislative efforts to reform the scandal-plagued Metra mass transit agency and improving the mass transit systems that serve over 650-million riders a year in Northeastern Illinois. Hosted by Jak Tichenor.
Illinois Lawmakers returns with weekly coverage of the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly during the month of May. Illinois Public Radio Bureau Chief Amanda Vinicky leads off this week’s coverage with an update on the latest developments under the Capitol dome. Next, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D) Chicago and Deputy Senate Republican Leader Matt Murphy (R) Palatine debate the pros and cons of extending the state’s temporary income tax increase in separate interviews with series host Jak Tichenor. Rounding out the program, Sen. Andy Manar (D) Bunker Hill and Sen. Jason Barickman (R) Bloomington discuss their work in crafting a new proposal to overhaul the state’s education funding system to send more dollars to Illinois’ poorest school districts.
A regular program on current events and issues in Illinois policy and politics, Illinois Lawmakers is produced in partnership by WSIU-TV Carbondale, WTVP-TV Peoria, and Illinois Public Media, Urbana.
