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Big Ticket Items In Upcoming Veto Session

By Fanna Haile-Selassie
By Andy Shofstall
Story Created: Oct 19, 2011 CDT
(Story Updated: Oct 20, 2011 at 4:11 AM CDT )

CARBONDALE - The Illinois General Assembly's veto session is less than a week away, and it's shaping up to be a hectic one with some major decisions to tackle. A lot of the issues revolve around the shaky state budget.

Next week is guaranteed to bring some contention between legislators and the governor. We've already seen the emotional backlash over several of Governor Pat Quinn's budget moves, like closing the Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro and the Chester Mental Health Center. Next week could be the last chance to save those facilities.

What could not be done in five months of the General Assembly's regular session, will now try to be completed in six days.

"There's some very big things that have to be resolved in two brief, one-week sessions," says Charlie Leonard with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.

And several items on the docket could have lasting implications for southern Illinois. Governor Quinn made several line-item vetoes in the $33.4 billion budget the legislature passed. He claims there wasn't enough money to keep the state running for the entire year. As a result, a big chunk of funding was cut to school transportation.

"Transportation funding is important in our region because we're sparsely populated, and a lot of our students live far away from our schools," explains Leonard.

Also cut was funding for the Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro and the Chester Mental Health Center, and Quinn stripped funding for regional school superintendents. If lawmakers want to reinstate any of the funding, they'll have to shift money around.

"They're going to have to rob Peter, essentially, to pay Paul, to restore funding to areas that the governor cut," says Leonard.

Southern Illinois is home to thousands of public employees, the most in the state. Leonard says many are worried if they'll have their promised pension benefits when they retire, since only a fraction of the pension system is actually funded.

But whether that all can be done in two weeks, is all up in the air.

"There's a lot on the line when times are hard and money is scarce. And I can't remember a harder time with scarcer money than we're going through now," exclaims Leonard.

Another big issue up for debate, the Gambling Expansion Bill, which the governor has promised to veto. Some lawmakers say it would bring needed revenue to the state to help pay its bills.