By Greg Halbleib

SPRINGFIELD – Familiar themes are part of the discussion in Springfield concerning a new state budget, including from a local lawmaker who is part the minority leadership.

State Representative Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) said the majority Democrats must not just talk bipartisan, they must act bipartisan.

“There are people on both sides of the aisle who will do that,” Brady told WJBC’s Sam Wood. “It’s the leaders that we have to look to. In particular, the stalemate and the frustration and whatever descriptive words you would like to use between the governor and the speaker.”

Brady said the first agreement must be on how much revenue the state has to work with and form a budget around that amount. Brady said adding casinos in Chicago and Rockford, as some are proposing, isn’t the answer.

“I think that if we’re going to look to the casinos as a partial funding mechanism for a capital bill, we’re going to be sorely disappointed,” Brady said.

The General Assembly returned to Springfield this week in the first session since the primary election.

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].