Road Salt Provides Impetus for Illinois Spending Agreement

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The increasing needs of a government without a budget has at least temporarily cut into Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's resolve to stand firm against spending any state money without a spending agreement.

The Republican governor compromised last week, allowing Democrats who control the House to approve spending authority for about $3 billion even though the state has gone more than five months without a budget agreement.

Most of the money is already-collected tax revenue owed to local governments. What Rauner got was money for public safety, such as road salt and police training.

Rauner has opposed "piecemeal" approaches to a budget. But among the spending he wanted in the bill are millions of dollars for his state agencies to keep operating.