Two main factors may be leading to the Democrats trying a different budget strategy this year: Barack Obama and Tony Rezko.
Associated Press notes House Speaker Mike Madigan's plan to get a budget to the Senate and leave it to them and the governor to make changes to balance the budget as required by the state constitution.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois House voted mostly along partisan lines today for more than a dozen bills that lay out spending priorities for the next budget. One set would mostly keep spending flat from the current year, while the other would add millions of dollars in extra spending for colleges, human services and other needs.
By the end of the day, 28 bills had passed the House.
Time after time during the bills' discussions, Republicans would ask how the bills would be paid for, how much this would put the state of Illinois in the red, and time after time, the Democratic sponsor would wave off the queries, as if the concerns were irrelevant.
Indeed, State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Park Ridge) said Madigan's budget passage strategy was "insulting" because Republicans were not invited to participate in nor had any input into budget proposals.
Democrats passed each bill with their own side of the aisle votes, making up a simple majority. They do not need support of any Republicans unless the session goes past May 31st, when the votes required for passage rise to 3/5 of the House and Senate. The Senate has a Democratic 3/5 majority.
How does this budget strategy relate to Obama? Democrats -- including Emil Jones and his head honchos -- reportedly are pushing to help out the Obama presidential campaign throughout the nation this summer. Obama's looking to his old Illinois Senate buddies and staffers to push him to the finish line in November.
And Rezko? If the jury finds Rezko guilty, all eyes turn to the Governor, and he's not anxious to have 118 sets of House members' eyes focused on him during another hot, grueling fight over the state budget. Those restless House members might start murmuring more that "impeach" word, something Blagojevich doesn't want to gain momentum. Impeachment proceedings must originate as an investigation in the House.
Blagojevich's capital plan reportedly is DOA in the House, simply because it's his plan.