Gov. Pat Quinn is defending signing a budget that state officials say didn't fully fund 12 of 14 agencies even before the Chicago Democrat canceled raises for thousands of state workers.
Quinn said Monday he signed the budget lawmakers passed in May because it was better to have one even with "shortcomings" and "flaws." If the Democrat-controlled General Assembly hadn't passed a budget by June 1 Republicans would have gotten a say because more votes would be needed to pass it.
Quinn has said he can't pay the 2 percent raises worth about $75 million because he says lawmakers didn't give him enough money in the budget.
A circuit judge on Friday granted Quinn's request to hold off on paying nearly 30,000 affected state workers their raises.
