House Blasts Governor for Cuts SPRINGFIELD, IL (wqub) - The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly to restore more than 400-million dollars Governor Rod Blagojevich cut from the state budget. Amanda Vinicky reports on the latest wrangling between the state's top leaders:

The Governor says the nearly half-billion dollars he cut was "pork." Blagojevich says instead he'll use that money on his higher priority, healthcare.

But members of the House say Blagojevich made the cuts to punish his political enemies. In the process, they say he stripped vital funding for human services ... education ... police and fire departments ... and programs for the developmentally disabled.

Representative Lou Lang ... a Democrat from Skokie ... berated the Democratic governor for the unilateral action.

"In short, Governor, you didn't want this to be a cooperative process. You don't want this to be a democracy. You're not even interested in the rule of law. You're interested, Governor, in only having things your way."

That House vote puts pressure on the Senate to do the same..
However ... Senate President Emil Jones, also a Democrat, is maintaining his long-standing position that the Senate will support the Governor.

"I've already stated my position on that."

If Jones stands firm ... the governor's version of the budget will stand.
I'm Amanda Vinicky.

While more than 100 Representatives voted to override the Governor's budget vetoes ... four voted to maintain them. Some of those individuals are Blagojevich allies.

Another ... Democratic Representative Kevin McCarthy of Orland Park ... says he voted to sustain the cuts because he says the state cannot afford to spend the money.

"I think more should have been cut. You know, because, I think its cruel to promise people things we're not going to be able to deliver on. A lot of these are social service agencies, and other people, our libraries, our park districts. I'd rather not promise people something that I can't deliver on, so."

McCarthy says the revenue projections the budget is based on are inflated. He says it would have been irresponsible to vote for a budget that is not balanced.

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