SPRINGFIELD — As a powerful weather system dropped 8 inches of snow on Illinois’ capital city last weekend, another storm began brewing under the state Capitol dome.

State lawmakers were meeting for their lame duck session, which wrapped up Tuesday ahead of the once-every-two-years swearing in of a new General Assembly.

On the policy front, this session proved tamer than those of the recent past, when the majority-Democrat lawmakers muscled through major legislation at the 11th hour. Two notable examples, the 2023 semiautomatic weapons ban and 2021 criminal justice overhaul that ended cash bail, resulted in outcry from Republicans and court battles over the measures’ implementation. 

But behind the scenes in Springfield, tensions mounted, perhaps foreshadowing tough times ahead. Pritzker and lawmakers are preparing to contend with a projected $3.2 billion state budget shortfall and the as-yet unknown implications of President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming second term, among other issues. 

On the eve of the session, Speaker Chris Welch, D-Hillside, announced that he would part ways with his chief of staff, longtime House Democratic staffer Tiffany Moy. Word soon spread that three more top staffers — legislative director Kylie Kelly, chief counsel Kendra Piercy and spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll — were resigning.

The upheaval bookended nearly two years of turnover among House Democratic staff amid complaints of low pay, poor working conditions and other challenges. The rank-and-file employees have attempted to unionize, but Welch has said repeatedly that existing Illinois law prevents him from recognizing the bargaining unit.

Then came Welch’s decision not to call for a vote on proposed new hemp industry regulations supported by the governor. The legislation would have banned the sale of delta-8 and other hemp-derived intoxicants, except in Illinois cannabis dispensaries. It passed the Senate 54-1 in May but stalled in the House. 

Pritzker pulled out all the stops in an attempt to get that bill across the finish line.

The governor rarely comments publicly on pending legislation, but he made a point to do so during a news conference last month, calling on the House to pass the measure. He also played the inside game, wining-and-dining lawmakers on the topic at the Illinois Governor’s Mansion last weekend.

He even sent top staff from various state agencies to answer questions at the House Democrats’ caucus meeting on Monday in hopes of sealing the deal.

But things went south really quick. 

In the caucus meeting, Democrats who opposed the hemp bill reportedly berated the governor’s staffers and called them liars while Welch stood by. He later cited division among members as the reason he would not call the legislation for a vote last week. 

It was a rare loss for Illinois’ two-term Democratic governor, and Pritzker did not take it well. At an unrelated press conference on Tuesday in Normal, the governor said that Welch failing to call the bill was "irresponsible" while chiding "the choice by a number of people to go for profits over people."

He also called the treatment of his staff by the Democratic lawmakers "unacceptable" and said the employees were owed apologies.

And, frankly, it was impossible not to connect the treatment they experienced to the high turnover rates on House Democratic staff. 

To say it was a turbulent week inside the Capitol would be an understatement.

The hemp bill’s demise and the departure of the four well-regarded House Democratic staffers may foreshadow even tougher times ahead. 

Simply put, it doesn’t get any easier from here. 

Chicago’s mass transit agencies are facing a fiscal cliff as federal COVID-19 stimulus funds dry up and the state’s "tier 2" pension system needs reform to ensure benefits meet or exceed Social Security as required under the law. Not to mention demands for more spending on public education. 

But the largest, looming concern is the state budget. 

The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget in November projected a $3.2 billion budget deficit next fiscal year, warning of a "daunting" financial challenge and "severely limited" ability to fund new programs.  

In a memo a few weeks later, Deputy Gov. Andy Manar directed state agency heads to search for cuts, anticipate less federal funding and refrain from supporting legislation that would increase line items for the next budget year.

Pritzker, in a press availability in the Capitol on Wednesday, acknowledged the very real "budget challenges" facing the state. Trump’s return to power is causing concern that the hole could grow even bigger if funds the state has come to rely on for programs like Medicaid are slashed. 

"I’ve lived through challenges every year, and each time we overcome those challenges," Pritzker said. "And I think this year, of course, we know that we have a gap that we need to fill or that we need to manage in order to have a balanced budget, and I’m confident that we will do that. But it is true that there’s some unpredictable results that may come from Washington."

The windfall from federal stimulus funds and post-pandemic economic activity filled state coffers with cash the past few years, which allowed lawmakers and Pritzker to fund many of their individual and shared priorities. 

But many of the state’s financial issues are structural, meaning that the projected growth of existing revenue streams is being outpaced by the growth in expenses. 

It’s easy to paper over problems and vote for budgets when there is money to throw around. But when there’s not, as appears to be the case this year, issues that previously simmered below the surface start to emerge in the open. And some votes suddenly become harder to take. 

It’s well-known among those who follow Illinois politics that some deep divisions exist within the fractious House Democratic caucus, as well as between Democrats in the House and Senate. Pritzker and his administration have also at times been at odds with both chambers of the legislative branch. 

For the most part, these differences remained behind closed doors. And since Pritzker took office, he and lawmakers have always managed to land the budget plane — albeit sometimes more smoothly than others. 

Last year, for instance, some tax increases were necessary to bring the budget into balance.

It took three tries for House Democrats to attain the 60 votes needed to pass that revenue bill, which included a tax hike on sportsbooks, an extension of the cap losses large corporations can write off on their taxes and a $1,000 cap on the retailer’s discount businesses can claim. 

Those revenue enhancements could be considered low-hanging fruit because most Illinoisans won’t feel their impact, at least not to the same extent as as income taxes or sales taxes. 

But it will be hard to limit the pain if the budget picture is as bad as it looks, whether the sacrifice comes in the form of cuts, tax hikes or both. 

Lawmakers will be forced to take some difficult votes this spring. 

“This year is going to be tough,” said state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria. “I mean, the difference between having more resources available and having fewer resources available is that … the answer to folks coming in the door saying ‘all I need is $50 million’ is ‘no.’ And so it becomes really easy in that sense.”

The question is: can Speaker Welch cobble together 60 votes on a challenging budget given some of the turbulence within his caucus? 

Sixty was not attainable on the hemp bill. And that’s an easier bill compared with some votes that lawmakers may have to take in the coming months.

Pritzker himself acknowledged in that what happened with the hemp vote "is potentially a demonstration of challenges that the House will have in organizing to overcome some of the challenges that we’re going to face this spring."

There won’t be snow on the ground when lawmakers hash out a budget and some of the other challenging issues this spring.

But the storm clouds are nevertheless gathering inside the Capitol.