Friday was the scheduled last day of the regular legislative session for the year. This is the date by which all final action must be taken on bills pending in the House of Representatives and by which the budget must be voted upon. Except, that didn’t happen. The majority leadership failed to meet their own deadline for the end of session and members of the General Assembly will return to the Capitol next week to hopefully finish our work.
What concerns me the most is very few have even seen the budget and fewer still have had any input. Once again, like years in the past, the budget may be crafted in secrecy and likely will be put to a vote with little to no time to review.
I hope I am wrong and all members will be provided adequate time to thoroughly vet the budget and have a seat at the negotiating table to make certain that Illinois families are not footing the bill for reckless spending.
I will be back on the House Floor this week to do my part as your Representative and ensure your voice is heard.
If you want to stay up to-date on the activities of the House of Representatives, you can find updates on here on my website, on Facebook at Facebook.com/RepCoffey or watch the proceedings unfold online at https://ilga.gov/houseaudvid.asp.