According to Rich Miller at the Capitol Fax the Guv isn’t budging on pork,
Pork – One of the biggest budgetary sticking points still remaining is a fight over new money for member initiatives (pork). The legislative leaders want the authority to spend about $200 million on projects if the money becomes available. The governor has refused to budge so far.
And the St. Clair County connection comes in with a reference to Jerry Costello’s wife in the Regional Superintendents budget,
Regional Superintendents – The governor was asked during the Senate Democratic caucus meeting yesterday whether he would veto any of the budget after the General Assembly left town. The guv reportedly downplayed that possibility, but members said he did specifically mention that he was not happy that the Legislature had restored funding for regional superintendents of schools.
The comment surprised members, who thought the guv had backed off his plan to zero-fund the regional supers, many of whom have a lot of clout. One high-level employee in the St. Clair County Regional Superintendent’s office is married to Congressman Jerry Costello, and that alone was believed to have been enough to make the guv step off.