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GOP leaders say state budget talks going badly

Thursday, May 26, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

Budget negotiations among the Illinois governor and legislative leaders are going badly, particularly because of dwindling support for expanding gambling in Illinois, top Republicans said Wednesday.

"I would say we're taking some steps backwards," said Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, said proposals to let the state's nine riverboat casinos expand are all but off the negotiating table.

Democratic leaders left the negotiations without speaking to reporters, and Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich did not emerge from his office.

The governor and legislative leaders are trying to agree on how to close a gap of at least $1.2 billion in the state budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. If they don't do it by Tuesday night, the number of votes needed to approve budget legislation will jump from a simple majority to a three-fifths majority.

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