Worried about the shaky underpinnings of a state spending plan recently passed by the General Assembly, Gov. George Ryan on Friday summoned lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session starting Monday to consider changes.
Ryan did not reveal his plans for reshaping the budget. But he reserved his right to invoke powers granted him in the Illinois Constitution to reduce some budget lines and completely eliminate others. The constitution also gives the legislature authority to override such changes.
In an official proclamation summoning the legislature back to Springfield, Ryan signaled his intent to cut spending approved by lawmakers last weekend and to veto outright a bill that outlawed privatization of prison food services–a measure that passed both chambers with overwhelming majorities.
Ryan’s decision comes less than a week after legislators passed a new budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, a task made more difficult by the state’s fiscal straits. With a sluggish national economy driving down state revenues, Ryan asked lawmakers last month to enact serious cuts in spending for state agencies as well as impose hikes in state taxes on cigarettes and riverboat gambling.
But before they approved the new $54 billion budget, lawmakers increased spending and passed more modest tax hikes. With revenues continuing to drop, Ryan is worried that the legislative response to the mounting budget gap is inadequate.
“Nobody anticipated the drop in revenues for May,” Ryan told reporters after issuing the proclamation. “It’s a thing that we have to do. July 1 is not far away and that’s when that new budget goes in. It’s got to be balanced.”
The summons means lawmakers will gather Monday afternoon to hear the governor’s objections to the budget.
On Ryan’s target list could be some or all of the $278 million in programs and facilities that the legislature packed onto Ryan’s original spending plan. He could also target several pork barrel projects lawmakers added to the state’s capital plan even as they were looking for trims elsewhere.
With Ryan declining to outline his budget-cutting plans before Monday’s session, it will be more difficult for lawmakers, unions and other special interest groups to muster support over the weekend for a campaign to protect programs and state facilities that the governor wants to cut.
“If we do consider overriding any cuts, we sure as hell better have a way to pay for them,” said Jeffrey Schoenberg (D-Evanston), chairman of a House appropriations committee. “Right now, that does not appear to be the case.”
