SPRINGFIELD - Weeks of negotiations have yielded no state budget, no electric-rate relief and, according to one legislative leader participating in the meetings, no hope for an agreement anytime soon.

And many are placing the blame for the deadlock squarely on Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Critics say his absenteeism, confrontational style and an overall lack of leadership have strained relations between himself and lawmakers, effectively stalling negotiations.

Blagojevich's refusal to live in Springfield has been a point of contention for many since he took over the post four years ago.

State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, said he and other House lawmakers were incensed that the governor was in Springfield about only a day a week until May. A recent request from the governor that lawmakers meet five days a week until a budget is approved made matters worse.

"All session he was here once a week and now he's saying we should be here five days a week?" Mitchell asked.

Mike Lawrence, director of the Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said while Blagojevich's perceived disinterest in Springfield hurts his ability to lead, it also feeds a larger issue.

Lawrence, a former top aide to Gov. Jim Edgar, said working mostly from Chicago means Blagojevich operates absent the relationships forged with lawmakers just by being in the Capitol. Without this rapport, Lawrence said, Blagojevich is hard-pressed to deliver any of his ambitious budget proposals, which this year included plans for universal health care and billions of dollars more in education funding.

"I think one of the governor's fundamental challenges is that legislators, either rightly or wrongly, don't trust him," he said.

State Sen. Carol Ronen, D-Chicago, argues that Blagojevich does not need to be in Springfield to lead effectively.

"He introduced the budget in March … and we have yet to send him a budget. Is he supposed to come into the chamber and hold our hands?" asked Ronen, a key ally of the governor in the Senate. "I think we can start complaining if he's dragging his feet and if he doesn't sign a budget; but nothing has gone to his desk yet."

State Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, said he doesn't need to have his hand held but suggested Blagojevich check with lawmakers before proposing sweeping initiatives like universal health care.

"He comes up with these ideas and then he throws them out there before he's ever talked to us or the Senate," he said. "But that's the way he's done things since he's been in office."

Roosevelt University political analyst Paul Green said personality conflicts are a part of politics but that the state budget is languishing for another reason.

"The governor's leadership style, that's a convenient excuse," he said. "In all the years I've been down here, I've never seen so much money on the table. Health care, education, transit and pensions - all four of those would be really tough to do individually. Doing all four at one time requires an incredible amount of effort."

Green added: "All that stuff about they don't like each other, who cares?"

Jim Nowlan, a former lawmaker and professor of government affairs at the University of Illinois, said the members of the General Assembly care, and that's precisely why they are working overtime.

"I think legislators are distressed that he doesn't seem to take his work very seriously," Nowlan said of Blagojevich. "He is rarely in Springfield. … He's often seen jogging in his neighborhood midday. None of that means he isn't working, but it's symbolic of a lack of respect for the institutions of state government."

Rebecca Rausch, a Blagojevich spokeswoman, rejected the criticism and said the governor has been open to discussions with lawmakers.

"The governor has been in Springfield. He's … met with every legislator who wants a meeting. We are here where we are today because we were unable to get everybody to the table," Rausch said.