CHICAGO (AP) — A standoff between Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democrats is threatening to derail action on a long list of issues as lawmakers enter the final week of their spring session.

Legislators returned to Springfield on Monday to finish the session that ends Sunday.

At the center of their fight is how to erase a roughly $6 billion deficit in next year’s budget.

Democrats want a tax increase to close some of that gap. Rauner and other GOP lawmakers say they’re open to raising taxes, but only if the Legislature passes pro-business legislation that Rauner wants.

Several other measures could get caught in the legislative gridlock. They include a plan to expand gambling and a new capital construction program to repair crumbling roads and bridges.

Rauner spokesperson Lance Trover says “Madigan and the politicians he controls are walking away from the negotiating table and refusing to compromise on critical reforms.” Trover went on to say that Madigan “and his allies in the legislature are sorely mistaken if they believe the people of Illinois will accept doubling down on a broken system that has failed Illinois over the last dozen years.”

 

 

 

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