SPRINGFIELD - Speaker Michael Madigan on Tuesday outlined grim budget news to House Democrats who left a closed-door meeting predicting deep budget cuts, particularly in health care for the poor.

"Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a very bumpy ride," Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, said as she emerged from the gathering.

The problem in state government continues to be one of income versus expenses, despite last year's major income-tax increase.

Madigan's memos laid out scenarios for how much additional money could come in during the next budget year that starts July 1. If revenue grows a modest 2 percent, the state would collect an additional $568 million. If it grows 4 percent, which one lawmaker suggested is unlikely, the state would gain about $1.13 billion.

But the amount of new money isn't likely to be enough to cover the increased costs of public worker pensions, which are expected to increase by $957 million. And that doesn't take into account the desire to increase spending in the rest of the budget, especially on politically popular areas like education.

But the amount of new money isn't likely to be enough to cover the increased costs of public worker pensions, which are expected to increase by $957 million. And that doesn't take into account the desire to increase spending in the rest of the budget, especially on politically popular areas like education