On Tuesday, Gov. Bruce Rauner and the four legislative leaders met to discuss the ongoing budget stalemate. It had been months since a meeting had been held, despite the public outcry for the budget issues to be resolved.
Brief public comments by Senate President John Cullerton indicated the meeting was to only be about the budget and not Governor Rauner’s economic agenda. And, while none of the leaders spoke to the press immediately after the meeting, Speaker Michael Madigan took to the floor of the Illinois House and gave a speech laying blame for the impasse on Gov. Rauner.
Ironically, earlier in the day Governor Rauner spoke at the NFIB/Illinois Employer Action Day and called out the Speaker and Democrats saying they didn’t want to find a solution to the state’s problems.
Either way, both sides have given the green light for staff to start working together again and meetings among rank-and-file lawmakers restarted as well.