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Excerpt from chicago.suntimes.com
SPRINGFIELD — Instead of delivering a decisive budget victory to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Democrats stood on the Illinois House floor scratching their heads early Wednesday as they searched for a key vote needed to pass the state’s budget.
When all was said and done, the Democratic-led House eked out a vote of 60-47, the bare minimum needed to clear a revenue package — one of three budget bills that had been approved by the Senate on Sunday. By 4:43 a.m., more than four hours after legislators began taking up the budget, the House approved the $53.1 billion budget that relies on $1.2 billion in revenue from several changes to the state’s tax code.
“No matter what the other chamber says, no one’s ever said the House is boring,” Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, told lawmakers after the contentious vote. “The House is definitely not boring.”