IL House Trying to Avoid Layoffs

By Todd Hatton/AP

Springfield, IL – The Illinois House is tinkering with the state budget in an attempt to avoid layoffs in three major offices.
The House voted 113-0 yesterday to restore more than $19 million dollars that Governor Rod Blagojevich cut from the budget last year. The money is meant to prevent layoffs by the secretary of state, attorney general and state treasurer.
But even if the state Senate goes along, Blagojevich would still have to sign the bill before it could take effect.
Blagojevich made deep cuts last year as the state faced a major budget deficit. The cuts required closing parks and historic sites and cutting jobs in various agencies.
The House vote would allow many of those cuts to go forward but spare employees of the three constitutional officers.