Inside Illinois' Funding Fight, Party Politics Trump Potholes

摘要

Intraparty politics are threatening infrastructure in Illinois, where state legislators remain deadlocked over a mammoth capital bill to fund road, transit, school and other projects. Questions over politics and funding could hold back a plan again in 2009, sources say. A successful capital bill in Illinois is not a certainty, especially given the topic's storied debate. Two different versions of a bill called "Illinois Works" were considered in the previous legislative session-a $34-billion package and a scaled-down $2 5-billion version. The first passed in the Senate with bipartisan support but died in the House when the Democratic leadership blocked it. Like its sister, the $2 5-billion bill passed in the Senate but did not survive in the House.