SPRINGFIELD, IL – In a productive day at the Capitol, State Senator John Sullivan (D – Rushville) and members of the General Assembly re-authorized spending on the State’s capital plan so the summer construction season can proceed as planned.

"Yesterday, the General Assembly made job creation, investment in infrastructure and local economies a priority," said Sullivan. "Without the re-authorization of the capital construction plan, Illinois would have lost an entire summer construction season. We did the right thing for the people of Illinois by coming back to Springfield for a summer session to stop this worst-case scenario."

In addition to re-authorizing the capital plan (Senate Bill 2414), members of the General Assembly also voted to cut their own pay (Senate Bill 266). For the third year in a row, legislators voted to take 12 furlough days, cancel cost of living increases, and lowered per diem travel reimbursements which resulted in a reduction in pay of over $3,000.

"Passing a balanced budget this year required that we cut spending across the board—and that includes cutting our own pay," said Sullivan. "Everyone, including legislators, should feel the pain."

This year’s budget process included important and historic changes, including revenue-driven budget projections and line-item budgets for each individual agency as opposed to the lump-sum budgets of the past.

"The State is doing its budget the same way families and businesses across Illinois do their budgets every day," said Sullivan. "By first figuring out how much money is expected to come in and then deciding how much to spend, and by going through the entire budget line-by-line, we’ve started the process to bring the budget back under control."

This wraps up an already-productive General Assembly that also saw comprehensive reform to the workers’ compensation system (HB 1698) and historic education reform (SB 7).