Not even eight hours after an announcement that a state budget deal is on track to get to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk (see earlier story below), Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) adjourned his chamber for the night just before 11 p.m. Wednesday without voting on the bill.

That means lawmakers would be staying beyond Friday, though a legislative spokesperson called that “a deadline of convenience.”

After the Senate introduced a 3,409-page budget Wednesday evening, it became apparent not all House Democrats bought into the idea of rubber-stamping it unamended. It’s possible the third-reading vote in the House could occur at, for example, 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Press secretaries for Pritzler, Harmon, and House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) downplayed any significance to the late-night developments, agreeing that Friday was never a firm deadline and that the delay should not be considered a problem.

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Gov. JB Pritzker (pictured, center), joined by House Speaker Chris Welch (pictured, left) (D-Hillside) and Senate President Don Harmon (pictured, right) (D-Oak Park), Wednesday afternoon announced a budget deal. The plan would be for the legislature to complete voting and get it to the governor’s desk Friday.

The announcement followed what the leaders described as months of hard work but also came five days after the General Assembly’s scheduled 2023 adjournment date of last Friday. A late, unexpected diversion has been the cost of healthcare for immigrants. Pritzker said the legislature would give him the “tools” to “manage” the extra $1 billion expense.

Pritzker emphasized his “Smart Start” preschool program as a priority in saying the budget is close to what he laid out earlier this year. Harmon singled out the trust among everyone involved, which he said is at an “all-time high.”