Illinois Passes A Budget

By Gary Scott on July 6, 2017 at 5:26pm

The wait is finally over…Illinois has passed a state budget for the first time in over two years.

After Governor Bruce Rauner earlier this week vetoed a legislation package that included a $36 billion budget plan and a 32 percent income tax increase, the Illinois House of Representatives voted 71-43 to override the veto this afternoon. The successful override now puts the budget into law.

On Sunday, the Illinois House voted 72-45 in favor of the tax hike and budget plan, and today, the chamber again received the 71 votes, or three-fifths majority needed to trump Rauner’s veto.

The pressure to pass a budget ramped up when credit-rating agencies threatened to downgrade Illinois to a “junk” status. The threat remains, however, as Moody’s Investors Service said in a statement yesterday that the state still faces a potential credit downgrade regardless of the budget situatio

With tensions already running high, today’s vote was delayed and the Capitol placed on lockdown minutes before the scheduled 1:30 session. Preliminary indications are that the lockdown was the result of an alleged hazmat incident. Statehouse security handled the situation before any action was taken.

The Special Session for the Illinois General Assembly will continue as more bills and reforms must be discussed and voted on now that a budget has passed.