Rauner budget office says Senate plan won't erase deficit
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. Bruce Rauner's office estimates a Senate proposal to break a nearly two-year Illinois budget deadlock would still leave the treasury billions of dollars in the red.
The review obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press shows tax increases floated in the Senate plan would increase revenue by $1.7 billion. But it says it adds more than $4 billion in spending.
Republican Rauner and Democrats who control the Legislature have locked horns since early 2015 on how to allocate state tax dollars. The Governor's Office of Management and Budget says if nothing's done, the state will have a $5.3 billion deficit in June.
But the budget office estimates the compromise Senate Democrats and Republicans put forth last week would only reduce the expected deficit by $1 billion.