By Kevin Lee 217-528-9604

SPRINGFIELD  –  The state’s fiscal woes are giving the state’s schools their own budget headaches.

The state is facing a 12-point-2-billion-dollar budget shortfall.

But lawmakers aren’t likely to tackle the deficit until next month, after Governor Pat Quinn delivers his budget address.

Canton Democrat Mike Smith says schools have to finalize layoffs and budgets now.

022410Smith1                                                            :25                                    “…kind of blindly.”

Rockford Republican Dave Winters says schools across the state are being affected by the state’s poor fiscal situation.

022410Winters2                                                       :12                        “…starting August or September.”

The state’s Board of Education says the state has $700 million in IOUs to school districts, dating as far back to last October.

By Kevin Lee 217-528-9604

SPRINGFIELD  –  The state’s superintendent of education says he sympathizes with local school administrators’ dilemma of dealing with late payments from the state.

But with the state mired in a deep budget crisis, Chris Koch said there’s not much he or the state can do.

Koch said the state is still trying to reduce a large backlog of education-related payments from as far back as October.

“Of course the State Board (of Education) issues the vouchers, the money is just not there.”

“We have over 18,000 outstanding vouchers and…almost $700 million in vouchers that are outstanding,” he said.

State Board officials say the agency can’t pay down its bills because the state is facing a budget deficit that could reach $12.2 billion. Gov. Pat Quinn will present his budget agenda before lawmakers in a speech set for March 10.

But the state’s fiscal woes are creating budget problems for school districts across the state – now.

State Rep. Mike Smith, D-Canton, said school districts have to anticipate laying off workers and finalizing their spending by the end of next month.

“School districts have to put their budgets together. If they’re going to lay off personnel or terminate personnel, they have to give …notices 60 days before the end of the school year,” he said. “So that puts them into March, and we’re just getting the budget on March 10. So they’re kind of going into the next school year kind of blindly.”

State Rep. Dave Winters, R-Rockford, said the fiscal squeeze schools are experiencing are forcing administrators to make tough decisions.

“That’s why most school districts around the state are saying, ‘Any new teachers will be given notice that there may not be a position available for them in the next academic year, starting August or September,’” he said.

State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said layoffs of teachers and other school workers are taking place early in the year.

“The reality is laying off teachers in my district, in school districts that I represent, vary anywhere from 20 to in excess of 40,” he said.

Schools across the state may be forced to make more spending cuts as lawmakers and Quinn negotiate the state budget. Illinois’ education system accounts for more than one-third of the state’s total expenditures.

For the current state budget, Illinois received a one-time payment of a billion dollars from the federal government to help stabilize school systems.

“But that’s just going to carry over what (schools and school districts) are owed in 2010, it’s not looking at 2011, and (the federal funding) won’t be there next year,” Brady said.

Koch says school districts will face a difficult time in the months ahead.

“We’re going to make sure that we help districts as much as possible through this recession. But it’s not going to be over in a year, it’s going to take some time. And we’ve got to get the state in a positive trajectory, or we’re going to be in trouble,” he said.

By Kevin Lee 217-528-9604

SPRINGFIELD  — Lawmakers are pushing two proposals to move back the state’s primary election date.

They say voters and constituents are not satisfied with the current February date.

State Representative Elaine Nekritz is proposing a law that would push the primary back to March.

The Suburban Democrat says lawmakers moved the date from March to February to boost Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008.

State Representative Dave Winters says a later primary would give voters and media more time to discuss the candidates.

The Rockford Republican says voters and media may have dismissed Scott Lee Cohen had the primary been held at a later date.

Cohen won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, but withdrew Sunday due to concerns of a previous allegation of domestic violence.

Another proposal from House Republican Leader Tom Cross would move the primary back to June.

State Senator Michael Frerichs says a new primary date should not interfere with budget talks that take place in early summer.

The Champaign Democrat wants to make sure lawmakers are not trying to juggle election bids with legislative duties.

Lawmakers did not know when changing the primary date would be discussed.

EDITOR’s NOTE: Extra graf available.

Republican State Senator Gary Dahl thinks moving the primary back would boost voter turnout, which was around 20 percent during last week’s election.

Dahl says voter turnout is low in February in part because of the difficult winter conditions.

By Kevin Lee 217-528-9604

SPRINGFIELD  –  Lawmakers say voters and candidates are not satisfied with February’s primary election date.

So they’re trying to push back the day when voters choose their party’s nominees.

Lawmakers and then-Governor Rod Blagojevich approved of a February primary date to boost Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

State Rep. Dave Winters, R-Rockford, said a later primary would give voters and media more time to discuss the candidates.

020910Winters1                                                :12                                                …been the nominee.”

Cohen won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, but withdrew Sunday due to concerns of a previous allegation of domestic violence.

Republican State Senator Gary Dahl thinks moving the primary back would boost voter turnout, which was around 20 percent during last week’s election.

020910Dahl1                                                            :12                                        …because of the weather.”

Lawmakers say they did not know when legislative committees would discuss their proposals.

EDITOR’s NOTE: Extra clip available.

020910Frerichs1                                                :13                                                         …the best date.”

State Sen. Michael Frerichs, D-Champaign, said a new primary date should not interfere with budget talks that take place in early summer.

By Kevin Lee 217-528-9604

SPRINGFIELD  –  In the wake of an eventful election, lawmakers are seeking to push back the date when voters pick their party’s nominees.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, has introduced legislation that would move the primary election to June.

State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Des Plaines, has proposed a law moving the primary back to March.

Cross introduced his proposal last May, while Nekritz introduced her plan last month.

Lawmakers passed and then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich approved in 2007 of advancing the date of the state’s primary elections to February.

Nekritz said lawmakers moved the primary date from March to February, in part, to accommodate for the presidential campaign of then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama, an Illinois resident.

But Nekritz added that attitudes towards the early primary date have since changed.

“With the constituents, the candidates, there was the general sense that there was not adequate time for grassroots efforts and the issues to develop (because of the February primary),” she said.

State Rep. Dave Winters, R-Rockford, said a later primary would give voters and media more time to discuss the candidates.

“We did see with Scott Lee Cohen, I think if you had given it another two or three weeks, that it very well could have been that some of the other candidates would have highlighted his weaknesses and he would not have been the nominee.”

Cohen was voted the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, but stepped down on Sunday due to concerns over a previous allegation of domestic violence.

State Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville, thinks moving the primary back would help voters avoid the difficult weather conditions they experienced during last week’s primary election.

Dahl said snowfall and wind may have dampened voter turnout, which was around 20 percent for the recent primary election.

“Had the primary been today, [voter turnout] would have been 10 percent instead of 20 percent. So if you get to April or later, your chances of having turnout are better simply because of weather,” he said.

State Sen. Michael Frerichs, D-Champaign, said moving the primary date back would be beneficial, but holding a primary in June would be difficult.

“I think moving it to June will make it very difficult to get anything done with the budget at the end of the year if you have members running in primaries who want to get back home campaigning. I think that unless you want to move it back to August or so, I think March is probably the best date,” Frerichs said.

Nekritz previously introduced legislation to move the primary back to August, but said there would be complications with a primary so close to the November general election.

The state and local election boards would have to prepare ballots and organize early voting efforts within a matter of weeks, Nekritz said.

The Des Plaines Democrat said she had no timeline on when a legislative committee would hear her proposal.

By Kevin Lee 217-528-9604

SPRINGFIELD  –  Lawmakers say they will rally behind their parties’ nominees for governor.

The problem is, they don’t know who those nominees are yet.

Voting for the primary election ended Tuesday night.

But the tallies for both the Democratic and Republican governors races were too close to call as of Wednesday.

State Representative Bob Flider says he does not expect nominees to be finalized anytime soon.

The Decatur Democrat is hoping the votes are sorted out before lawmakers discuss the budget later this spring.

State Representative Dave Winters says the state could benefit from Quinn becoming the Democratic nominee.

The Rockford Republican says lawmakers could be less willing to negotiate with Quinn if Hynes became the Democratic nominee.

Gov. Pat Quinn holds a slight advantage over state Comptroller Dan Hynes in the Democratic race.

In the Republican race, Bloomington state Senator Bill Brady has less a 300-vote lead over Hinsdale state Senator Kirk Dillard.