Lawmakers Decry Budget Situation; Director Grilled at Special Hearing

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SPRINGFIELD (AP) - Officials with both political parties accused Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday of overloading state government with debt, but the administration defended its policies as the best choice in the face of financial disaster.

The governor's budget director, John Filan, told lawmakers at a special hearing on the state's borrowing practices that carefully taking on more long-term debt was a reasonable response to a budget deficit of roughly $5 billion last year and $1.7 billion this year.

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Lawmakers Decry Budget Situation; Director Grilled at Special Hearing

"There are no easy answers to funding gaps that enormous," Filan said. "This was like the Titanic at sea, and it had to be turned around - and turned around right away. We had to find som...

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