By Sean Crawford, Illinois Public Radio
Springfield, Ill. – On the final day of Illinois' fiscal year, state government remains without a budget. But lawmakers are expected to send one to the governor today.
What it will look like is still unclear. Governor Pat Quinn wants an income tax increase to help deal with the state's deficit, but it's unlikely that will happen.
Some say a budget that funds government one month at a time is the way to go to avoid a shutdown. Others are pushing a plan that would come up short of the amount Quinn has proposed. Along with that uncertainty is what the governor will do with the measure when he gets it, as House Republican Leader Tom Cross points out.
"Is he going to sign them, is he going to sign them and say let's come back later, is he going to veto it and say I want a tax increase?" Cross said. "We really don't know what he's going to do."
And Governor Quinn won't show his hand. He has called a budget that cuts social services unacceptable. Despite the end of the fiscal year, government could keep operating for several days without a budget in place.