Afternoon news update: July 22, 2015

Illinois agriculture officials will seek a federal declaration so farmers across the state with flood-damaged crops can get some disaster aid. The state had its wettest June on record and a new government report says half the soybeans and more than 40 percent of the corn is in poor to fair condition.
With no end to the state budget impasse in sight, Senate President John Cullerton is asking the governor to start over and submit a new spending proposal. Cullerton says the Democrat’s budget is dead, and so is Governor Bruce Rauner’s original plan so a new proposal is in order. Rauner has insisted that reforms to worker’s compensation and a property tax freeze be a part of the final deal; but Cullerton disagrees. The governor says Democrats are only interested in raising taxes, not passing true reform that will get Illinois back on track.
The dominos of the state's budget problem are beginning to fall, with a $24.7 million classroom building construction project being halted at Northern Illinois University. NIU spokesman Brad Hoey says the state's Capital Development Board received an order from Governor Rauner to halt all capital projects, putting a stop to work on the Stevens Building project that began a year ago.
A speech by the lieutenant governor is interrupted by dozens of disability advocates angry over proposed cuts to human services programs. Disability advocates disrupt the lieutenant governor's speech at a celebration of the American with Disabilities Act. Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti was blocked during her speech at the Chicago event by dozens of people in wheelchairs, chanting "I'd rather go to a jail than die in a nursing home." Tim Sullivan, a disabled man living in Chicago, says the changes to the determination of need (DON) score proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner would cut off him off from aid he receives through the Illinois Department of Human Services' home services program. The aid includes paying for someone to help with basic tasks like getting out of the bed and getting in and out of the shower. Sullivan says the fact Sanguinetti herself has a disability, as she suffers from multiple sclerosis, adds a little extra sting to Rauner's proposed cuts. "If anything, she should be on our side, fighting for us, not against us," Sullivan said. Sullivan adds that he and other disability advocates have tried to engage Sanguinetti on these proposed cuts, with no success. "We met her at another event and talked to her, and she was like a deer in headlights," Sullivan said. "She didn't even know what the hell we were talking about, and we tried to get a meeting with her, and she was oblivious to it". And hundreds gathered in front of the state Capitol Tuesday to protest the potential closure of the Illinois State Museum system. The roughly $4 million line item is threatened as lawmakers and the governor can't come to a budget agreement
A second man wanted for his part in a Loves Park beating over the weekend has been identified. Police are looking for 48-year old James Carrington of Rockford. He’s facing charges of Aggravated Battery, Unlawful Restraint, Robbery & Mob Action. Police believe Carrington helped 48-year old Saul Robles detain and beat a Milwaukee concert promoter Robles had used in promoting shows at Victory Sports Complex in Loves Park. Robles faces charges of aggravated battery, unlawful restraint, robbery, theft and mob action.

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