Illinois: No Budget Deal, No End in Sight for Session?

With one Republican Senate leader saying she’s “never witnessed a spectacle like the one I’ve watched unfold this legislative session,” no one seems to be sure when the Illinois session will end.

Christine Radogno, deputy leader of the Illinois Senate Republicans, called on her legislative colleagues to “approve an austere state budget, close out our deficits, do something to help people pay their electric bills and get out of Springfield for the summer” in a letter to the editor published in last Thursday’s Chicago Sun Times.

Legislative leaders and Gov. Rod Blagojevich missed the May 31 deadline to reach agreement on the state’s budget, and little progress has been made in the interim. Furthermore, the Legislature did not address the need for electric rate relief, another major objective of the 2007 session. The rift is between Democrat Speaker of the House Mike Madigan on one side and his fellow Democrats, Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones, on the other.

The House did pass a budget at the end of May, and, on June 6, indicated there is little room for upward movement on that proposal, with Madigan saying that it represents the “high water mark” for spending. Blagojevich and Jones want more money for the budget.

Although there was no budget passed by May 31, Blagojevich, unfortunately, did sign into law HB 1798 that expands Illinois’ wrongful death statute to allow a jury to award damages not only for actual loss, but for grief, sorrow, and mental suffering.

Another major initiative by the plaintiff bar, SB 1296, one of the most negative tort bills the 2007 Legislature, may be dead for the session. Under the bill’s language, the apportionment of fault under joint liability only applies to the parties still remaining in the case at the time a final determination is made and does not apply to the defendants or third-party defendants that have been dismissed for any reason, including settlement.

Direct questions to NAMIC State Affairs Manager Tami Stanton.

Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 9:58:21 AM.

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