No State Budget, But Maybe A State Pet For Illinois

dog and cat
Illinois still doesn't have a state budget, but it may be getting an official state pet. Pixabay
dog and cat
Illinois still doesn't have a state budget, but it may be getting an official state pet. Pixabay

No State Budget, But Maybe A State Pet For Illinois

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

Illinois state lawmakers failed to pass a budget for the third year in a row, but they did come together to pass a bill naming an official state pet.

Illinois already has a state bird, state tree, state flower, state amphibian, and even a state reptile.

But there is currently no state pet. That title would be shared by shelter dogs and shelter cats if Gov. Bruce Rauner signs a bill passed by lawmakers late last month.

It was just one of a slew of bills passed at the 11th hour of the spring legislative session, showing lawmakers can still find common ground on at least some issues. Other legislative feats? Bills that would establish bicycling as the official state exercise, milkweed as the state flower and corn as the state grain.

State lawmakers, however, still have no plan for how to pay the state’s backlog of bills to Medicaid providers, pension funds and social services.