Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proposed slick trick on the budget isn't just an end run around Republicans; it is an end run around the Illinois Constitution.

His fellow Democrats in the Legislature should not allow the governor to drag them down to that level.

The Constitution states that legislation approved after May 31 needs a supermajority of three-fifths in each chamber. Otherwise, it will not take effect until June 1 of next year.

That means that for this year's budget to take effect immediately after passage, it needs 71 votes in the House and 36 votes in the Senate.

With only 67 Democrats in the House, that means at least four Republican votes are needed.

The Senate has 37 Democrats, which doesn't leave Senate President Emil Jones much margin for holding his majority together.

At this critical time, the emphasis should be on bipartisanship, not trying to exclude members of one party - and all the Illinois taxpayers they represent.

Instead, Blagojevich is suggesting that legislation be rewritten to defer the effective date of some programs until next year so a supermajority will not be needed.

"If the speaker does that, we can be out of here tomorrow," Blagojevich said.

That's an optimistic assessment on the governor's part, considering his budget proposals have not been embraced by all Democrats - not the least of whom is House Speaker Mike Madigan.

The governor just doesn't "get it."

Blagojevich described a two-hour, closed door meeting on Tuesday as "one of the best meetings we've actually had" while Madigan and others say it was unproductive and heated.

He told the Associated Press that the current situation is "totally what I envisioned was going to happen in January, February and March" and things may get more publicly testy "as the days and weeks unfold."

Weeks? May we remind the governor that the current 30-day budget extension only has about a couple of weeks left?

Oh yeah, we forgot, the governor who "envisioned" as long ago as January that the current situation would exist said he hasn't "thought that far ahead" when asked if he would go along with another 30-day extension.

Illinois needs and deserves better leadership than it is getting. Lawmakers of both parties must fill the void left by the governor.