"I will not stop fighting to find a reasonable and pragmatic solution that digs Illinois out of the current hole it is in." -State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria)

SPRINGFIELD - State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) issued the following statement regarding the "Grand Bargain" votes:

"The Illinois Senate began voting on parts of the grand bargain package that President Cullerton and Minority Leader Radogno have spent countless hours working on. Despite his public claims that he is for the legislation, it is becoming increasingly clear the governor does not approve of the Senate’s plan to end two years of political deadlock. Unfortunately, it appears that our Republican colleagues are not ready to vote to end this historic impasse."

"I am greatly disappointed that we were unable to secure bipartisan votes for pieces of legislation that Republican members openly stated on the floor that they were in favor of. The point of compromise is to come together and identify a solution that has a little bit for everyone. This package of legislation does exactly that."

"While the future of this grand bargain package is unknown at the present, I will not stop fighting to find a reasonable and pragmatic solution that digs Illinois out of the current hole it is in."