In response to the meeting Governor Bruce Rauner held with legislative leaders Tuesday, State Senator Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) released the following statement.

The people want results and so do I. They’ve had enough of the blame game.

They want services to be restored for children and the mentally ill. They want to feel safe in their homes and on sidewalks. They want college students to continue to go to school, and they want roads to be clean and safe for the winter upon us. We want a balanced, responsible budget now.

A meeting is a necessary first step of many on the path to finally producing fruitful solutions to the budget impasse and ending the pain that has come with it. And Governor Rauner, the man behind this stubborn stalemate, has to step up to lead us to these concrete results.

I don’t know the exact date a solution will be present itself, but I do know that it has to come through tough compromise, an empathetic spirit and a keen ability to find innovative solutions to persistent problems.