Attorney General Madigan Asks Judge To OK Payments Without State Budget
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- The Illinois attorney general has asked a Cook County judge to clarify what bills the state may pay without spending authority during the budget impasse.
Democrat Lisa Madigan announced Thursday that she has been working with Comptroller Leslie Munger to identify essential services that can be funded without appropriation authority from the General Assembly.
Madigan says those include payments specified by state law and those required by court orders.
The state is two days into its 2016 fiscal year but a dispute between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democrats in the Legislature has held up approval of a yearlong spending plan.
Democrats tried to adopt a $2.3 billion, one-month plan Wednesday. The Senate approved the idea but a separate measure failed in the House.
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