SPRINGFIELD - Desperate to show voters they are making progress on the state budget, Democrats in the Illinois Senate are getting ready to push a spending plan through the chamber before the state runs out of money next week.

"We're attempting to put everything in place," Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, said Wednesday evening.

The tentative plan calls for the Senate to hold a series of hearings on their spending plan today with an eye on moving a package of legislation to the House before the current temporary budget expires July 31.

However, the Senate plan contains a number of controversial provisions that make it unclear whether it has enough support to move forward.

Among them is a 75-cent boost in the state cigarette tax, which would raise more than $300 million for a statewide construction program.

The proposal also relies on an expansion of gambling in Illinois, which hasn't won support in the House. And, it contains a pared-down version of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's health insurance program, which also has met with tepid support.

The tobacco tax was not even on the legislative radar earlier this spring when Blagojevich called for massive tax increases on businesses to pay for his health insurance proposal.

Lawmakers killed the business tax plan and have been unable to agree on any other kinds of tax increases, despite a Democrat-led push for higher spending on schools and pensions. The impasse has led them to a record-breaking 56-day overtime session.

The cigarette tax advanced to the full Senate Wednesday on a 6-3 vote.

If approved, the proposal would bring the state's share of cigarette taxes to $1.73 per pack, putting Illinois' tobacco tax among the top 10 in the nation. The tax was last raised in 2002 when it jumped to 98 cents a pack.

"It's not a sales tax. It's a sin tax," argued state Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan. "You don't have to smoke if you don't want to. But if you do smoke, pay the piper."

Business groups oppose the increase, saying it will send smokers fleeing across the state's borders to purchase cheaper smokes in states where taxes are lower.

"What you are doing here is putting small businesses in Illinois out of business," said Bill Fleishli of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association.

Meanwhile, a stripped-down version of the governor's health care expansion plan won approval in a Senate committee. It would cost about $1.2 billion, down from its original $3 billion.

The plan would levy a 3 percent tax on businesses that spend less than 4 percent of their payroll on health insurance.

Opponents said it would hurt small-business owners whose margins may be too small to pay for the program.

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, scolded supporters for not offering enough details about how the plan would work.

"You can't even tell me how many businesses you're going to tax?" he asked.

In a statement, Blagojevich called the committee vote a significant step toward ending the gridlock.

"Today we're one step closer to giving working people all over Illinois access to health coverage they can afford," Blagojevich said.