Overtime: Madigan pushes legislative session into weekend, raising stakes and questions

SPRINGFIELD — With a budget and capital plan still being sorted out — not to mention an expansive gambling measure that would add a Chicago casino, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan on Friday opted to extend adjournment of the spring legislative session “at least through Sunday.”

The extension means that any vote taken after May 31 will require a three-fifths majority for the law to go into effect within the next 12 months — and legislators raced the clock on Friday night to try to push out some of the budget bills.

An announcement sent to legislators and staffers shortly after a recreational marijuana measure was passed Friday afternoon said the session was being extended “due to volume of work load.” It said the House would be in session “at least through Sunday, June 2.” The announcement also warned that legislators wouldn’t be getting a daily “per diem” expense payment beginning Saturday.

Madigan’s announcement was a surprise, even with the vast amount of work to be done.

That’s because negotiations had been led by Democrats — the party that holds the governor’s mansion and supermajorities in both legislative chambers. There are 74 Illinois House Democrats and 40 Senate Democrats, which would be enough to clear the pending measures beyond the May 31 deadline.

A three-fifths supermajority requires at least 71 votes in the House, and 36 in the Senate.

But Democratic leaders want some Republican support, especially on controversial taxes attached to some of the proposals, including a gas tax hike and a $1 increase on cigarette taxes.

On Friday morning, it looked like Pritzker would be getting all he wanted: a budget and capital plan, marijuana legalization and expanded gambling. The governor has already logged some big wins in getting a graduated income tax question on the 2020 ballot, and clearing the tax rates that would be associated with that plan. He also succeeded in getting his preferred marijuana measure, which he is expected to sign quickly when it lands on his desk.

And when sent to his desk, an abortion measure cleared late Friday will help solidify the Gold Coast Democrat politically as a progressive force to be reckoned with amid abortion bans in several other states.

But Capitol insiders speculated whether the overtime demand was a Madigan power play. If Pritzker had attained all his legislative priorities by the end of Friday, the rookie governor would be largely credited with the wins.

By day’s end, it was a mix of might from the governor’s office and legislative leaders that led both the House and Senate to pass an operating budget bill. That came after seemingly constant meetings throughout the day to hammer out agreements.

Earlier, legislators had complained that there was little time to digest comprehensive capital and budget bills — and negotiations were vastly done behind-the-scenes. House Republicans on Friday blasted out a statement accusing Democrats of increasing spending and neglecting any of their preferred job reforms. Republicans said the reforms were taken out on Friday morning, prompting the statement.

Madigan, too, is trying to get some Republicans to vote on the budget and capital plan to provide House Democrats political cover come election season.

Republicans had asked for a real estate tax and the $1 tax on cigarettes to be removed from the capital plan. On Friday they learned the taxes were still on the table, and their requested reforms were stripped out. While the real estate tax was removed, the cigarette tax remains on the table.

Asked about the budget negotiation process during a House Executive Committee, House Majority Leader Greg Harris, D-Chicago, noted there was “less agreement than there was in the past.”

“Some things we agreed upon, some things we did not,” Harris said of negotiations with Republicans and the governor’s office.

There has been plenty of animosity within the House, as Republicans have spent hours in debate fighting various controversial measures, including the abortion bill and marijuana legalization.

Pritzker worked to calm the disarray during several meetings with legislative leaders throughout the day on Friday. But by 9:30 p.m., with the clock ticking, eight measures involving the budget, capital and sports betting, had not made a move.

The House cleared a spending plan late Friday, with the Illinois Senate following suit with a bevy of measures involving the budget and capital plan. The House plans to come back at 10 a.m. for more; the Senate returns on Monday.