Illinois
With an ever-widening budget gap of $2 billion, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is seeking sweeping authority to cut state programs, including education.
"Today we have more difficult decisions to make," Blagojevich said Tuesday in releasing his latest budget proposal a day before lawmakers return to Springfield.
The push for more cutting power amid a rapidly growing budget shortfall comes after a summer of infighting over $1.4 billion in cuts that saw drug treatment programs and state facilities shuttered.
Meanwhile, the state is buried under a massive backlog of more than $4 billion in unpaid bills to health care and other state service providers.
NEW YORK- An effort by Gov. David A. Paterson to close a $1.5 billion hole in the state budget abruptly fell apart on Tuesday after the governor failed to persuade the Legislature to embrace his plan.
As the governor met in the Capitol with legislative leaders on Tuesday, protesters rallied against his proposed budget cuts.
The collapse means that no action will be taken this year to grapple with this year’s budget deficit, which continues to expand as tax revenues from Wall Street evaporate. It also means the state could find itself unable to pay some of its bills in the final months of the fiscal year, the governor warned.
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