It’s been less than a month since the end of the elections and already state lawmakers seem to be barreling right into the next one.

Illinois legislative leaders made little progress toward a state budget agreement Sunday, after meeting for the second straight day at Gov. Bruce Rauner’s offices in Chicago. However, GOP Senate leader Christine Radogno says the lack of progress is a strategy by state Democrats to better position themselves for the 2018 elections.

Democratic leaders on Sunday said they need more information to formulate a comprehensive budget plan, including the potential effects of an incoming Donald Trump administration, but Republicans called the request a stall tactic aimed at creating financial havoc with a short-term state spending plan due to expire at month’s end.

Following a closed-door meeting at the Thompson Center in Chicago, Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno said Democrats have raised “a number of additional issues that they need answers for before they talk about the budget, some of which we will never know, such as what is the impact of the Trump administration on this budget.”

The witching hour is fast approaching for thousands of Chicago’s oldest retired city employees, barring an 11-hour legal rescue.

On Dec. 31, Mayor Rahm Emanuel will complete a 3-year phaseout of the city’s retiree health care program, including a 55 percent subsidy.

Chicago isn’t the only government with a looming pension crisis.

Numbers compiled by the Cook County Treasurer’s office and secreted my way show about a quarter of the government entities under the county umbrella have more retirees than they do employees.

Ugly.

That’s an apt way to sum up the second week of the fall veto session in the Illinois Capitol. The political bickering simmered Tuesday and Wednesday before boiling over into a hot mess Thursday, leaving a grimy residue of anger, potentially even more distrust between the political parties and, most importantly, the realized fear that Jan. 1 will most likely come with no spending plan in place for the last six months of the fiscal year.

Homeless shelters in Illinois and low-income college students who rely on state funds are facing another year of financial uncertainty as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democratic lawmakers remain unable to make progress on resolving a budget war.

Several meetings during the past month have only served to prove how far apart the two sides are: Rauner, a former venture capitalist who took office two years vowing to overhaul how the state is managed, continues to insist Democrats pass part of his pro-business agenda, while they say he should focus on a budget deal without pre-conditions.

Democratic Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza is set to be sworn in as Illinois comptroller on Monday, taking the office that controls the state’s checkbook away from a Republican appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Mendoza will take the oath at 10 a.m. in the Capitol rotunda in a ceremony officiated by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke. The event marks Mendoza’s return to Springfield, where she previously served as a lawmaker in the House from 2001 to 2011.

Progress will come when everyone commits to the idea of shared sacrifices; you said as much last week. You noted you could be a fresh voice in gridlock; the state’s residents are begging you to please do so. We hope your voice can resonate above the noisy brouhaha that masquerades as discourse these days in the Capitol, and provide solutions.

Good luck. You’re going to need it.