Rep. David Olsen (R-Downers Grove) doesn’t see three times as a charm.
“For the third year in a row, rather than adjourning until the fall veto session, the legislature will be in continuous session as we enter the summer months.Illinois needs a budget – we need a balanced budget right now!” Olsen wrote on his website recently.
Olsen criticized House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) for not allowing the House to vote on a comprehensive budget, instead bringing up only what Olsen described as partisan legislation.
“Our schools, colleges and universities, social service providers, businesses and all our residents need the certainty that only a comprehensive balanced budget can provide,” Olsen wrote. “We also cannot repeat the same mistakes of the past and rely only upon tax increases on working families to solve the budget mess. Our State must change the way we do business.”
Olsen said he was relieved that a Senate proposal to raise taxes in a new budget didn’t pass, meaning there is hope of compromise, he said.
“Many rank-and-file legislators on both the Republican and Democratic sides were willing – and remain willing – to put aside partisan differences and work toward a balanced budget with reforms,” Olsen wrote. “…I remain ready to do the difficult work necessary to make a balanced budget a reality prior to the start of the new state fiscal year on July 1. Let’s get back to the table.”
