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Illinois has been operating without a state budget for a year now. That means the state is making no payments for its construction projects,or to social agencies for services — or anything else — unless the agency sues the state for money. The deadlock between Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and the Democratic legislature prompted a derisive segment in The Daily Show Tuesday night.
The educational system is facing a particularly dire situation. Chicago Public Schools, for example, and must earn a $669 million payment to its teachers' pension funds today,which would essentially wipe out all of the money in the school system.
Chicago Public Schools and some other poorer districts say that without a budget, they won't be able to open their schools in September.
Tony Arnold has been following this yarn from the beginning as the state politics reporter for WBEZ. He joins The Takeaway to discuss the crisis of governance playing out in the Prairie State.
Source: wnyc.org