Kendall County Times

Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) and 39 of his House colleagues sent a letter to Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently, asking her to compel the General Assembly to adopt a revenue estimate as the first step toward reaching a budget agreement.

“It is time for the Attorney General to step in,” Wheeler said, according to a press release. “The majority party in the General Assembly refuses to do their job and take the first, most basic step in the state budget process, which is to adopt a revenue estimate. It is common sense that you can’t determine how much you’re going to spend; and on which priorities, until you know how much revenue you have. Illinois families and taxpayers understand this principle; and until two years ago, the state did too.”

In the letter, Wheeler pointed to a requirement in the Constitution and the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Act that the General Assembly adopt a revenue estimate. He urged Madigan to compel the Legislature to fulfill its duty.

“Even though I am a relative newcomer to Springfield, I have learned firsthand how the budget impasse has a devastating impact on families and the human service providers who care for the most vulnerable in our community,” Wheeler said in the statement. “The Attorney General can help us end this ongoing tragedy by forcing state legislators to do their job.”