Illinois has started its third straight fiscal year without a state budget. That could mean some universities won’t be able to offer federal financial aid, road construction and Powerball ticket sales will halt and the state’s credit rating may be downgraded to “junk.”
While a spending plan got early approval in the House on Friday, the chamber later adjourned for the day. House Speaker Michael Madigan said they would return Saturday — the first day of the new fiscal year.
Lawmakers are trying to end an impasse between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the Legislature that started when the first-term governor took office in 2015 promising change.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who controls the state’s checkbook, warned that without a budget: “Derailment is imminent.”
