Illinois Budget Talks Go into Overtime, Raising Questions about Democratic Priorities.

Illinois Democrats failed to meet their self-appointed deadline for enacting a budget, highlighting stresses within the one-party, big-tent Democratic rule. The Republican minority failed to seize an opening to criticize Democratic priorities and overspending. The ballooning costs and potential expansion of a state-funded health care program for immigrants who don’t qualify for traditional federal Medicaid is one of the main sticking points in budget negotiations. Democrats have yet to reach an agreement on how to rein in the cost of the program or make room for its full cost in the budget.