Illinois lawmakers earn base salaries of nearly $68,000 for what is essentially part-time work.

The stopgap budget passed by the General Assembly provides six months worth of funding for government services such as road construction, as well as a full K-12 education budget for the 2016-2017 school year, property-tax-raising authority for Chicago, and more state funding of pensions for Chicago Public Schools teachers.

Until CPS passes necessary spending and pension reforms, giving any additional money to the system will only reward officials’ mismanagement and reckless behavior.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s insistence that Chicago Public Schools receive more than its fair share of state education funding is putting any stopgap budget deal at risk.

Madigan’s record $40 billion spending proposal and its $7 billion deficit revealed he was never serious about reaching a budget deal with Rauner. Instead it was nothing more than an attempt to create a deeper fiscal crisis, force additional tax hikes and create a bailout for the city of Chicago. As long as Madigan and other lawmakers keep prioritizing politics over people, Illinois will continue its downward spiral.

On May 31, the Illinois Senate rejected House Speaker Mike Madigan’s budget proposal, which was unbalanced by $7 billion.

Senate Bill 2048 isn’t a serious blueprint for the future of Illinois.

If AFSCME workers cannot be paid in the absence of a budget appropriation, pressure will be turned up on the governor to agree to the union’s unreasonable demands.