Next week, the Illinois General Assembly will return to Springfield to convene for the annual two-week Veto Session. The session is scheduled for October 14-16 and October 28-30. The Veto Session is generally intended for the legislature to review legislation passed in the spring that has received a total veto or an amendatory veto from the Governor. The legislature can seek to override a Governor’s veto by a 3/5 majority vote in each chamber or vote to accept an amendatory veto.
However, the Veto Session is also often used to take up major policy issues that were not resolved in the spring or have arisen over the summer months. This year, among others, two major issues that the legislature may consider are a bailout of the Chicagoland mass transit agencies, which are facing a massive fiscal cliff and an operating budget shortfall of over $770 million, and a new green energy package.