A state Senator hopes to free up $60 million in capital funds to finish a veterans home in northwest Chicago but the governor says instead of focusing on one project lawmakers should pass a “truly balanced budget.”  Rosemont Democratic Senator John Mulroe says his bill, Senate Bill 2225, frees up money that’s already been approved but not appropriated because of the budget impasse.  Governor Bruce Rauner’s office says the money was in the governor’s introduced budget and wasn’t in the budget passed by the majority Democrats the governor later vetoed.  Mulroe says the 200 bed facility started construction about a year ago and he hopes the $60 million will be enough to finish the project.  Mulroe says he hopes the bill puts pressure on everyone to approve the funding for this and what he estimates are around 200 other stalled projects.

However, Rauner’s office urged Senator Mulroe “to work with members of his caucus to pass structural reforms like true property tax relief, redistricting and term limit amendments, and a truly balanced budget.”

In other State news, the effort to inject an arbitrator into public employee contract negotiations for binding arbitration, something the governor has said could cost taxpayers $1.6 billion, is still alive.

Lawmakers failed to override Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of Senate Bill 1229 last summer, but the governor warns there’s another attempt to remove him from the negotiating table. A document the governor’s office released Friday says House Bill 580 isn’t necessary. Sponsor of the measure, Hillsdale Democratic Representative Mike Smiddy, says the governor recently seeking an impasse decision from the Illinois Labor Relations Board makes the bill relevant.

Rauner’s office says the tolling agreement agreed to by the union and Rauner lays out bringing in the ILRB to settle disputes, a process the governor’s office says could take months. Just last month the ILRB threw out AFSCME’s claim of an unfair labor practice against the governor.