SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois House has adjourned after endorsing a $36 billion state budget, though a final vote won’t come in time to prevent Illinois from starting its third consecutive fiscal year without a spending plan.
The fiscal morass is the longest in any state since at least the Great Depression. Since the last state budget expired two years ago, Illinois has rung up a $6.2 billion annual deficit and a $14.7 billion stack of past-due bills.
House members approved the latest proposal in a preliminary vote Friday before adjourning. It relies on more than $2 billion in spending cuts and a likely increase in the income tax to raise $5 billion.
Lawmakers will return to the Capitol on Saturday to keep working, including negotiating with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Deputy House Majority Leader Lou Lang says “meetings are taking place all over the building.”