By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – The two sides in the long-standing state budget dispute are digging in their heels ahead another budget showdown.
State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin he’s concerned Illinois Democrats are prepared to see schools close to force concessions from Gov. Bruce Rauner.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Barickman on WJBC.
“Senate President (John Cullerton) walked back that suggestion, but what I’m bracing for in the coming year is an incredibly rocky road that may look very similar to what we’ve seen in the last year or two,” Barickman said.
Lawmakers return to Springfield on Monday as the state’s latest temporary spending plan expired this week.
Barickman added budget uncertainty is putting many state funded universities in peril.
“A number of our directional schools, the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western (Illinois), those schools are in a very dire straits right now,” Barickman said. “If one of those directional schools were to close or to announce a closure that is going to have an immediate impact on that area of the state.”
Barickman said hoping for a change in leadership is useless.
“Madigan is the speaker, he’s going to be reelected next week,” Barickman said. “There’s going to be a little bit a noise over that, but he’s going to be the speaker for the next two years, just like Rauner is going to continue to be governor. In that system, we’ve got to persevere.”
Some have called for House Speaker Mike Madigan’s ouster as the state has gone 18 months without a complete spending plan.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
