Kankakee Times

Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst (R-Kankakee) and 39 of her colleagues have penned a letter to Lisa Madigan, asking the state's attorney general to enforce law by requiring the General Assembly to adopt a revenue estimate for a state budget.

"For over a decade the State of Illinois has not passed a balanced budget," Parkhurst said, according to a press release. "A major reason for this has been the House's proclivity to blindly dole out money without regard for how much the state has to spend. Adopting a revenue estimate is a key component to a balanced budget."

Illinois has gone without a full budget for two years, and the General Assembly has not adopted a revenue estimate, as required by the Constitution and the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Act, for two fiscal years. Republican lawmakers have sponsored three measures to adopt a revenue estimate, based on three measurements.

Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst (R-Kankakee)

“[W]e ask the Office of the Attorney General to use the power of her office to force the General Assembly to adopt a revenue estimate prior to the filing and passage of any appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2018 in order to prevent further damage to State finances and the many vendors that provide critical services to the most vulnerable in our state," the letter from the representatives said. "With the session calendar soon coming to a close, your immediate attention to this issue is imperative."