(WJBC file photo)
By RFD Radio/WFMB
SPRINGFIELD – It’s not a surprise, but it is official.
Leaders in the Illinois Senate decided on Thursday to hold off on a vote of the grand bargain. The pile of bills that tie a new state budget to tax increases, gambling expansion and a number of other items and reforms still needs time to be baked.
Christine Radogno, Illinois Senate Minority Leader, said nothing is stopping it’s just a pause to better craft bills for the coming large lift.
“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on us when we go home on (Democrats) from certain elements, on (Republicans) from certain elements,” she said. “Don’t succumb to that. We need to do this together for the good of the state.”
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, told Illinois Radio Network he’s encouraged by the ongoing dialog.
“The problems we face are not going to disappear, in fact they’re going to get more difficult everyday,” he said.
The vote on the bills is expected to be the first full week of February.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
