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The Illinois General Assembly is still in session, and while that's sometime dangerous for the rest of the state's population, they're hoping to pass next year's budget soon.
If you're in Illinois and have been following the news you already know that it's not going well this spring in terms of the budget talks. I was in Springfield yesterday for a presentation and drifted over to the Statehouse afterwards to check in with various lawmakers to see if anything good might happen for the Old Slave House. Surprisingly, there just might be something.
Local state Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Norris City, has been talking with the governor and his staff about the house and some type of appropriation this year. He wouldn't tell me that he had made it yet, but was supposed to meet with the governor later that afternoon. (At the time of our conversation outside the doors of the House chamber the governor was supposedly meeting with the four legislative leaders about the budget.)
Assistant House Majority Leader Lou Jones, D-Chicago, one of the members of the Legislative Black Caucus who visited the house back in 1997 on a trip organized by Brandon's uncle, then-state Rep. David Phelps, had been told about the possible money and was using (or was going to use) her own influence with House Speaker Michael Madigan to try to get some funding if the governor didn't come through. | |
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