SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Legislature has one day to churn out a state budget.
Friday is the last scheduled day of the General Assembly’s spring session. Paperwork has moved in anticipation of adopting a spending plan of about $39 billion , but few details have emerged.
It promises to be a long day at the Illinois Capitol. Unresolved substantive measures join the budget. Legislation to legalize recreational use of marijuana has cleared the Senate and awaits action in the House. Statutory protections for abortion have House OK and await Senate action.
Neither a long-discussed measure to legalize sports betting nor a massive expansion of casino gambling has seen action.
And Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has called for a $41.5 billion state construction program. But some say gambling expansion is necessary to fund it.
