Jones won't be rushed

Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat, informed Senate members that they will not be back in session until Nov. 12, refusing to call any immediate special session to consider restoring budget cuts or ethics legislation -- both of which the House approved just a day ago.

By the time the Senate convenes, two dozen state parks and historic sites will have closed and more than 300 state employees will have been laid off. Plus, numerous social service agencies are cutting staff and programs as state cuts trickle down to those who actually do the treatment and counseling on the state's behalf. An Elgin alcohol abuse and drug treatment center announced it would cut five staff and remove two beds from its programs because of the state cuts.

Jones' spokeswoman argues that the Senate approved more than enough money to balance state spending back in May, but theHouse only took up the spending portion, sending on to the governor a budget nearly $2 billion out of whack. The above cuts ensued.

Anyway, here's Jones memo that went out Thursday.
Sorry, for the quality. That's pretty much unreadable. It's been faxed at least twice and then scanned in. But at least you can see I'm not making it up. The memo exists.
It primarily addresses his reasoning for why the Nov. 12 Senate session does not jeopardize ethics legislation the House approved Wednesday. There's a 15-day deadline for the Senate to act, but Jones says the clock doesn't start ticking until he says so.