By Phil Milsk, CCDI Legislative Affairs Consultant

July 2, 2007 -- The scheduled adjournment date was May 31, 2007. However, the Governor and legislative leaders have been unable to reach an agreement on a budget for State Fiscal Year 2008, which began yesterday. The parties do not appear to be close to agreeing on a budget.

In order to keep State government running, there was an agreement last week on a one-month "core services" budget that funds State obligations and essential services through July 31, 2007. The one-month budget bill is HB 3920, and it passed both houses last week, clearing the Senate on Friday morning.

Also last Friday, the Governor announced that he was calling both houses back into special session starting on Thursday, July 5, 2007. This was somewhat of a surprise to legislative leaders and rank-in-file members, who were planning to be off until July 10 or 11. Similar special session days were called in 2004, the most recent overtime session. In 2004, members would typically go into session for an hour or so and then have no business to conduct the rest of the day. This type of scenario is predicted again until the leaders and the Governor move closer to an agreement.

In the meantime, bills continue to go to the Governor for consideration. Senate Bill 593, CCDI's bill to modernize the public accommodations article of the Illinois Human Rights Act, was sent to the Governor late last week. House Bill 817, another bill CCDI worked on to benefit young adults with special education transition needs by extending eligibility to the 22nd birthday, was sent to the Governor on May 24, 2007, but no action has been taken on that bill yet. House Bill 1256, the bill that would expand the Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities program (HBWD), has yet to be sent over to the Governor's office, but it has passed both houses.

A bill that passes both houses must be sent to the Governor within 30 days of passage. The Governor then has 60 days to act on the bill.

Many people have been asking about the status of Illinois Covered, the proposal to provide health care coverage to the uninsured in Illinois. The Governor's office and Senate President Jones continue to push to include Illinois Covered in the final budget. It has essentially become a budget issue at this point. The keys are (1) finding a way to pay for Illinois Covered that will be acceptable to legislative leaders and (2) convincing leaders in the House that Illinois Covered is a high priority among Illinois voters. There is always an option of implementing a smaller scale Illinois Covered proposal and/or phasing in the broader package of benefits over a period of several years.