After punting on the budget crisis last fall, Illinois lawmakers left Springfield pledging to return to the Capitol after February's primary election to begin cleaning up the budget mess. As regular readers know all too well, too few have lived up to that pledge. Instead, they've run for political cover. As a result, the stack of unpaid bills to schools, hospitals, and human service agencies -- which surpassed the $5.1 billion mark months ago -- continues to stack up. And when Gov. Pat Quinn unveils his budget next month, it's almost certain that few services, including education, will be spared from major cuts.

Today, members of the Responsible Budget Coalition (RBC) traveled from every corner of the state to pay lawmakers a visit at the state capitol building in Springfield.  (Organizers estimated that 3,000-4,000 people attended.)  At a large rally in the rotunda -- followed by individual office visits -- the protesters reminded their representatives that no part of their job is more important than passing a budget that protects the health, education, and well-being of Illinois' citizens. And doing so will require new revenue.

To that end, the RBC is pushing the House to take up HB 174, passed by the Senate last spring. "We need a responsible budget, a budget that provides and cares for the people of the state," Illinois Action for Children's Maria Whelan said. "Not a budget that provides political cover." Watch her and other members of the coalition as they addressed demonstrators this morning:

It's worth noting that the RBC continues to attract new members. Just last week, the Illinois Hospital Association, the League of Women Voters, and AARP got on board. Together they called on lawmakers to wake up and acknowledge the crisis then start working toward a revenue solution. "Lawmakers are watching [the programs] that they've built up over the years torn down. And they're just sitting silently by," John Bouman, executive director of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, told us. "It's a spectacle."

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this website, is a member of the Responsible Budget Coalition.