Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner told state lawmakers during his Wednesday budget address that they have two choices to end an eight-month budget impasse and start getting a grip on the state’s worsening financial condition.



Either lawmakers can enact elements of his cost-saving “Turnaround Agenda” in exchange for a larger $36 billion budget, or give him the authority to make $4 billion in cuts to balance this year’s books, he told lawmakers.

Rauner maintained his position that he will not support new revenue, meaning new taxes, without major structural reforms to how Illinois does business. Illinois has been without a 2016 budget since July 1 because of the stalemate between Rauner and legislative Democrats who control the House and Senate with three-fifths supermajorities.



“Either you give the executive branch the authority to cut spending to live within our means. Or we agree – together – on economic and governmental reforms, to accompany a negotiated balance of spending reductions and revenue, that ensures that Illinois can be both compassionate and competitive,” Rauner said.



“You choose. But please, choose now,” he added.



Rauner, elected in 2014, wants significant reforms to workers’ compensation, tort liability and collective bargaining, and a property tax freeze, to improve what he calls an unfriendly atmosphere that is driving jobs, and a growing number of taxpayers, out of the state.

Democratic lawmakers, led by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, counter that the proposals go too far and will hurt working families, and that they should be dealt with separately from the state budget.



The governor vetoed the General Assembly’s deficit budget that spent $4 billion more than the $33 billion the state was expected to collect.



He likewise proposed a budget that was balanced through spending cuts – which Democratic lawmakers rejected – and told them that they would need to pass elements of his agenda before he would even consider raising taxes.



While about 90 percent of the state’s bills still are being paid because of court orders and existing state statutes, a number of vendors, such as social service agencies and public universities, are not getting paid.



Illinois faces a deficit of about $5 billion this year, not counting a backlog of unpaid bills that could exceed $10 billion without a responsible budget in place.



Rauner said that he would prefer to go it alone if it comes to cuts, but said he needs that authority from lawmakers if they are unwilling to work with him.



“If, in the end, you won’t compromise on the reforms we’ve proposed, and if you’re unwilling to work with us to enact a balanced budget with a mix of reform, cost reductions and revenue, we still must fulfill our shared responsibility to enact a balanced budget,” Rauner said. “No reform means we cannot in good conscience raise taxes on the hardworking families of Illinois. Instead, cuts will have to be made.”



But Rauner made clear his desire not to jeopardize funding for public schools if the budget battle continues, and asked lawmakers at least to approve a separate bill funding public schools.



The one part of the current 2016 budget that he did not veto last year was for early childhood, primary and secondary education.



“No matter how this [legislative] session unfolds, send that education bill to my desk – clean, no games – and I’ll sign it immediately,” Rauner said.



A glance at the legislative calendar for the ongoing spring session, however, does not bode well for any thought of action or compromise.

House lawmakers do not meet again until March, and there are only three session days scheduled for the whole month.



Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, echoed the call of other local lawmakers that they should be in special session until a budget deal is reached.



He called the months-long delay unconscionable, pointing to the fact that Pioneer Center for Human Services, McHenry County’s largest social service agency, could close without emergency funding.



“We need to immediately adopt a budget without a tax increase. This has gotten to the point where this has become obscene,” McSweeney said.