South West Illinois News

Sen. Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) said he sat through 11 special legislative sessions in a row without a discussion on the budget, according to his weekly report on his website.

Yet the lack of progress had not killed his hopes that there will be and end to the impasse, as lawmakers continued their negotiations, the July 1 posting said.

Schimpf’s update explained that Illinois, now in its third consecutive fiscal year without a budget, faces further credit rating downgrades that could push the state into junk status – a first in the country. The impasse is also affecting the state's institutions, including several state universities that are facing a loss of accreditation due to a lack of funding.

Schimpf said that his time in Springfield has been spent working to bolster state institutions and services held hostage by the budget impasse, including domestic violence shelters, which were not part of last year's stopgap spending plan meant to limit the effects of the impasse.

Schimpf also updated constituents on two honorary joint resolutions that he sponsored that were adopted recently. The resolutions honor fallen residents of Schimpf’s district, designating stretches of road to their memory.