The buck stops here: Toss Madigan’s illegal budget

If Madigan wants borrowing, tax hikes or some combination of the two, he should present his wish list to Illinois taxpayers.

The Illinois Constitution states that, “Proposed expenditures shall not exceed funds estimated to be available for the fiscal year as shown in the budget.”

But since 2002, Illinois lawmakers have skirted around the requirement with borrowing and bad accounting.

House Speaker Mike Madigan plans to continue this storied tradition in the coming weeks, making it clear in a May 25 press conference that Democrats will pass a budget that would have the state spend at least $3 billion more than it takes in.

But if the Illinois General Assembly slides this unbalanced budget to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk, and he signs it, he will be in violation of the state’s founding document.

The constitution makes clear that the “funds estimated to be available for the fiscal year” must be “shown in the budget.” If Madigan wants borrowing, tax hikes or some combination of the two to fill the revenue gap, he should face taxpayers and detail exactly what he wants.

As it stands, he hasn’t.

Spawning an unconstitutional budget and dropping it on the governor’s desk might be a convenient bargaining tactic, but it’s an extreme measure that rides the edge of the letter of the law.

Principled lawmakers on both sides of the aisle should reject Madigan’s budget scheme. But should it end up on his desk after passing through the Democratic supermajority, Rauner should veto it.

Illinois faces one of the biggest fiscal crises in the nation, and it’s budgeting gimmicks like Madigan’s proposal that got us here. Appeasing unscrupulous actors will only make things worse.