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By The Associated Press | Friday, April 18, 2003 | (No comments posted.)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he might try to find more education money to help schools that would lose out under his proposed budget.
The Democratic governor also opened the door further to expanding gambling.
Blagojevich made his comments Wednesday in a meeting with the editorial board of The (Springfield) State Journal-Register.
In the spending plan he presented to lawmakers last week, Blagojevich called for a $250 increase in the amount of guaranteed state aid per pupil. However, most of the money to pay for that increase comes from other parts of the education budget.
With all the shifting of money, some school districts could end up with a net loss for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The governor's office estimates 100 of the state's 893 school districts would get less general state aid.
To compensate, Blagojevich said he might add up to $20 million to his education budget for those districts.
On gambling, the governor said he would not necessarily veto a state budget that includes new gambling revenues despite his own opposition to an expansion.
"It's too early to say," Blagojevich said. "We'd have to see what the whole budget looks like."
Blagojevich said, however, he will not seek to bring in more money by expanding gambling. That includes legalizing video poker machines, he said, even though House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, maintains that is not expansion.
He said he wants to raise the entry fee for riverboat casinos, increase taxes on their profits and sell a 10th, inactive riverboat license as ways to raise revenue.
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