Only in Illinois Reboot Illinois

The Illinois budget agreement hammered out on June 30 will allow state government to avoid outright collapse through the calendar year 2016, but it hardly fits the definition of what a real “budget” should be.

Could this whole budget impasse business start again if lawmakers don't figure out a more long-term solution for the state's budget woes? It could end up being just like the movie "Groundhog Day."

It’s only June and voice mail boxes across Illinois already are filling with robocalls from political candidates. The 2016 Illinois elections are shaping up to be a game played by a new set of rules thanks to the presence of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s large campaign fund and, possibly, Donald Trump at the top of the ticket for Republicans.

If you're frustrated with the folks in Springfield, this election season might not be the stress relief you're looking for.

Dueling press conferences between the Republican governor and Democratic Senate president, another costly downgrade to the state's already worst-in-the-nation credit rating and a plea from school superintendents to the governor to reform the school funding system made this an especially interesting week in Illinois politics. They inspired us to create two new Twitter hashtags that we debut on this week's "Only in Illinois."

The 2016 spring legislative session ended just as the did the 2015 session: with no state budget. Now the governor and his Democratic counterparts in the General Assembly are talking about an emergency, stopgap plan that would let state government limp through the end of the calendar year. Are we ever going to see a real, balanced state budget? That's our topic on this week's "Only in Illinois."

With less than a week before a budget is due, the Illinois General Assembly displayed a rancorous public face while calmer heads prevailed behind the scenes.